In polar night, Norway-Russia kids event lights up Christmas


              A member of the Polargospel children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, plays in the snow in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Children from the Barentsburg's school enjoy Napoleon cake, Russian tea, and Cokes in the school cafeteria in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              A cook clears plates at the Barentsburg's school cafeteria in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, take pictures of a Barentsburg's school classroom in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, receive gifts from a Barentsburg teacher acting as Ded Moroz, the Slavic equivalent of Santa in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Children of the Barentsburg's school perform to mark Orthodox Christmas at the Barentsburg school in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Drawings hang in a classroom at the Barentsburg's school during a celebration of Orthodox Christmas in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, perform songs for Orthodox Christmas at the Barentsburg's school in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Rayleigh-scatterings illuminate the horizon during the journey from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg, Norway, for Orthodox Christmas, on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              A ship lent by Svalbard’s governor sails from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg, Norway, on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children's choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Children from Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, take a selfie in front of the boat they traveled on upon arriving to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, arrive in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              The Rev. Siv Limstrand and children from Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, arrive to mark Orthodox Christmas in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with about 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, remove their warm clothing upon boarding the governor's boat in Longyearbyen, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, rehearse songs during their journey to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, rehearse songs during their journey to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, rehearse songs during their journey to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              A crew member on the ship lent by Svalbard’s governor oversees its docking in Longyearbyen, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children’s choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia’s Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Members of the Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard, rehearse songs during their journey to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The choir traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia’s Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              The Rev. Siv Limstrand, pastor of Svalbard Church, travels on a ship Svalbard’s governor lent from Longyearbyen, Norway, to Barentsburg, Norway, for Orthodox Christmas on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. Limstrand worked with Barentsburg’s school officials to prepare a children-focused program centered on the Gospel and its message of Christ’s birth bringing light into the world.  (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              The first officer on a ship Svalbard’s governor lent looks out at Rayleigh-scatterings on the horizon during a journey from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The children’s choir from the Lutheran church in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia’s Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Icons hang on the wall of the Orthodox chapel on Orthodox Christmas in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Maria Kharcheva, a school teacher who recently moved from Russia, looks at icons in the Orthodox chapel during Orthodox Christmas in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. "I'm a religious person. This holiday is very important to me. It symbolizes something pure, warm," Kharcheva said. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              People walk outside during the round-the-clock polar night in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Children from the Barentsburg's school wait in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, to see a performance by members of Polargospel, the children's choir at the only church in Svalbard. The children traveled three hours each way by boat to mark Orthodox Christmas with the 40 children in Barentsburg, a village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              The Rev. Siv Limstrand, of Svalbard’s church, attends an Orthodox Christmas performance at the Barentsburg's school in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. Limstrand worked with Barentsburg’s school officials to prepare a children-focused program centered on the Gospel and its message of Christ’s birth bringing light into the world. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              A full moon rises behind a statue of Lenin in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. About 350 people live in Barentsburg, the village owned by Russia's Arctic mining company in the remote Norwegian territory. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
            
              Children from the Barentsburg's school perform, some in white costumes, for Orthodox Christmas in Barentsburg, Norway, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The school's English teacher, Maria Kharcheva, who recently moved here from Russia, explained the rays of light were meant to symbolize "the stars in the night sky when the Savior was born." (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
In polar night, Norway-Russia kids event lights up Christmas