Christmas Eve Caroling: On Saturday, Dec. 24, celebrate the holiday with carols under the Washington Square Arch. From 5-7 p.m., the Rob Susman Brass Quartet will lead attendees in song. Most carols will be familiar, but the Washington Square Association will be distributing songbooks as well. Enjoy the gorgeous park’s Christmas tree as well. Visit www.washingtonsquarenyc.org to learn more.

Harlem Gospel Holiday Celebration: Celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with two powerful gospel concerts in Harlem. On Saturday, Dec. 24 and Saturday, Dec. 31, the one-hour concert begins at 11 a.m. The singers will provide an authentic gospel concert, designed to lift the soul and have everyone in attendance singing and dancing along. The doors to the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church open at 10:15. Tickets are $20. Visit www.welcometoharlem.com to purchase tickets.

Menorah Lighting: The largest Menorah is located in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, where it has stood since 1984. It is 32 feet tall, the tallest allowed by Jewish law. This year, Hanukkah begins Dec. 24th. From the 24th until Dec. 31, the Menorah will be lit each evening. Accompanying to lighting ceremony is live music and hot latkes. Special gifts will also be distributed to children. The ceremony is open to both Jews and non-Jews, who will gather to watch Rabbi Shimon Hecht light the Menorah from a Con Edison cherry-picker. Visit www.chabadparkslope.com to learn more.

Salome: The Oscar Wilde-inspired drama continues to entrance audiences. Accompanied by Richard Strauss’s score, Patricia Racette plays Salome for the first time at the Met. The opera runs through Dec. 28. Performances are an hour and 38 minutes and the lyrics are sung in German. Tickets begin at $25. Visit www.metopera.org to see show times, purchase tickets and read a synopsis of the opera.

Holiday Opera Mouse: Delight your young ones with tickets to this family friendly opera show, which runs through Dec. 31 at Soho Playhouse. Tilly Mouse loves to sing. She lives under an opera house but is terrified by people. The opera isn’t really a place for mice but she still wishes she could perform in the annual holiday concert. The Diva goes missing at the holidays and Tilly has to step in the save the day. Featuring classic arias from Puccini and Mozart, as well as music from Handel’s Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, this show is a wonderful way to expose children to opera and classical music. This weekend catch an 11 a.m. show on Dec. 24. Visit www.sohoplayhouse.com to learn more.

A New York Police helicopter circles over Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty was evacuated with officers responding to a report of a suspicious package seen from Jersey City, N.J., Friday, April 24, 2015. Visitors are posting photos online showing hundreds of people being herded toward a ferry landing. Tourists say they were taken off boats while trying to leave nearby Ellis Island. Those vessels then were used to evacuate Liberty Island. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_liberty-2.jpg.optimal.jpgA New York Police helicopter circles over Liberty Island where the Statue of Liberty was evacuated with officers responding to a report of a suspicious package seen from Jersey City, N.J., Friday, April 24, 2015. Visitors are posting photos online showing hundreds of people being herded toward a ferry landing. Tourists say they were taken off boats while trying to leave nearby Ellis Island. Those vessels then were used to evacuate Liberty Island. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)