to christmas or not to chritsmas?

One of the hardest things one may face when living abroad, is how to balance between what ur religion asks you to do, and how to indulge into the community ur living in. you'd especially find it difficult when you have a kid at school where they ask you around this time of the year if you would like ur little one to participate in the christmas shows and plays, or if you would rather them not to.
i personally asked them not to let Saif participate which i think wasnt wise from me, and i somehow regret my rushed answer.
they take my son's classmates to practice on the stage on how to do the nativity play, and he sits on a chair just watching them playing.
he must have felt bad about it, although i made sure he understands why he isnt supposed to be up there with them. he knows that Christmas is for Christians and eid is for muslims. but what worries me that he has missed his very first experience in learning public speaking, and how to overcome the fear of facing a crowd, especially that my son is a shy person.
i sometimes think maybe i should have asked them to give him a role that has nothing to do with a religious character, like a star or a bird or whatever, and sometimes i say to myself that im doing the right thing.
the other day, i received a call from the school's secretary telling me that saif is crying because he was not allowed to enter the christmas show with the other kids "upon my request", and if its okay to let him in? it broke my heart that my son felt isolated and deprived, it felt unfair, so i gave them my permission.
Today, the Nativity play is gonna be played at their school's stage and my saif and i are invited to attend. i think i'm gonna go just to sit beside my son and explain to him our version of the play. i dont want him to feel leftout that all the parents are going to be present to see their kids on stage. and maybe, we should go for an icecream right after that to cheer him up :)

what do you think people? im i doing the right thing? share ur experiences if you have any :)