Beyond Snow & Sugar Cookies
Make the holiday season a learning opportunity for your kids by teaching about other cultures' celebrations
Many schools and teachers stress about the holidays, because they want to make the season enjoyable without stepping on any toes. Honor the season with a cultural unit.
Many schools won't or can't celebrate the holiday season because they are afraid of offending someone who doesn't participate in a particular religion or celebration. Instead of stressing about the season, celebrate it by exposing children to holiday celebrations from around the globe. Here are some suggestions and ideas.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday celebrated on December 26th. It originated in the 1960's after the Civil Rights movement to help black people celebrate their heritage. During the week of Kwanzaa festivities, people gather with friends and family to exchange gifts and light the black, green and red candles symbolizing unity, self-determination, purpose, creativity, faith, collective work and responsibility, and cooperative economics.
The Kwanzaa holiday has a Kwanzaa bush, which children create ornaments for. Families set a ceremonial table, and for the next seven nights, they gather to eat and light a candle each night on the Kinara. On December 31, children are given gifts, and at the end of the seven days, everyone gathers for a final feast.
Chanukah: The Festival of Lights
Chanukah is an eight day festival celebrated by people of the Jewish faith. It has very little significance to most Jewish people, and is only well known for its close proximity to the Christian holiday, Christmas. Chanukah has several traditions associated with it, the most well-known being the menorah. The story goes that when oppressed Jews reclaimed their temple after the reign of Antiochus IV, there was very little oil left to light the menorah. Despite this, the menorah burned for eight days and nights, and a festival was held to celebrate this miracle.
Other traditions associated with Chanukah are dreidels and latkes. Dreidels are used by children to play a game with small toys or chocolate coins as prizes. Latkes are potato pancakes. To celebrate Chanukah, families light one candle each night and children usually receive one gift each night. The gift giving is not traditional, but was added when Jewish people began to live in close proximity to those celebrating Christmas.
Christmas in Italy
The holiday season in Italy starts eight days before Christmas, with the Novena. Italian children travel from house to house, singing and reciting poems. On Christmas Eve, Italians celebrate with a special meal. Children wait until January 6 to receive their presents from La Bafana. La Bafana is a kind but ugly witch who flies to each child's house on a broomstick and leaves a present. Legend says that she was invited to the birth of baby Jesus but missed it because she was busy. She leaves a gift at each child's house in hopes that one will be the baby Jesus.
La Posada
Christmas in Mexico is celebrated with a religious procession symbolizing the journey of Mary and Joseph. The pointsettia is an important symbol in the Mexican celebration. The story goes that a young boy visiting the nativity scene had no gift to offer, so he gathered some green branches and placed them near the baby. They bloomed a bright red flower on each branch.
Mexican children receive gifts on Christmas day and also celebrate by breaking open a pinata. on January 6th, good children receive a gift from the Three Wise Men.
Saint Lucia
In Sweden, the holidays start on December 13th with the Saint Lucia ceremony. Before dawn, the youngest daughter puts on a white robe with a red sash and an evergreen crown with tall, lighted candles on it. She then serves her parents coffee and Lucia buns accompanied by her siblings.
Swedes put Christmas trees in their homes two days before Christmas and decorate them with candles, apples, Swedish flags, straw ornaments and small gnomes. Julafton is the Christmas Eve dinner, which consists of a buffet including julskinka (Christmas ham), pickled pigs feet, lutfisk (dried codfish), and sweets. Risgryngrot is a special rice porridge with an almond hidden in it. The person who finds the almond in his or her bowl will marry in the coming year.
