Christmas Around the World

A world of activities and Internet sites focused on the traditions and spirit of Christmas!

On Christmas morning, boys and girls around the world will waken early and run excitedly downstairs to see what Santa Claus has left for them...

Well, that's not exactly how it goes -- for around the world children celebrate the Christmas holidays in many different ways.

In Germany, the 6th of December is a special day:
 

...There's a special tradition all over Germany on December 6th. [On] the evening of December 5th you put your cleaned (big) boots outside the house in front of the door (or inside). Some people also put a plate there or on the windowsill. The bread in the plate is for the white horse of Santa Claus ... In the morning you see that Santa Claus really was at your house and put nice things into the boots or plates, e.g., all kinds of nuts, oranges, apples, sweets, chocolate, small presents ... But if you [weren't] well behaved the whole year you only get a switch so that your parents can punish you, but they don't!
Kristine and Wiebke, Germany

And in Italy, January 6th is a day long-awaited by many children:
 

The 6th of January is the day on which the three Wise Men arrive at the Bethlehem cave in which kid Jesus is and give him gold, incense and myrrh and for this reason in Italy children receive presents traditionally brought by the "Befana," a good old witch who comes into their homes through the chimney. This is the last day to the Christmas holiday in Italy.
Elisbetta, Italy

In Sweden, December 13th is a special day that children look forward to all year long:
 

Saint Lucia [Day] is celebrated all over Sweden on December 13th. The custom with the girl dressed in white with candles on her head has a complicated background ... In our school we celebrate Saint Lucia Day outside very early in the morning while it's still dark. Our Saint Lucia is coming in a carriage pulled by a very small horse. She is followed by Santa Claus on a big horse and a lot of girls and boys in white gowns and a lot of candles. They all sing traditional Christmas songs and read poems. After the ceremony we all eat ginger cookies and bread with saffron. To celebrate is very important to Swedish people.
Class 4c in Nasbyparksskolan

Your students can read all about these Christmas celebrations and others around the world on the Multicultural Calendar, a Web site devoted to explanations (most of them kid-written) of holiday celebrations. Kids around the world are invited to post their own messages telling about their special ways of celebrating all year long!

Want to read explanations of a few more December celebrations around the world? Click here to read about Christmas celebrations in Mexico, Denmark, and Australia. Then visit the Multicultural Calendar Web site for many more. On the site you can view holiday entries from around the world organized by month, by holiday, or by country.

OTHER PLACES TO GO FOR A MULTICULUTRAL VIEW OF CHRISTMAS

To provide your students with a "world view" of Christmas, one of the best Internet sites to visit is (appropriately named) WorldView Christmas. Click on a country name -- from America to Zimbabwe -- for an explanation of that country's Christmas traditions. Why not assign each student (or teams of two) to research Christmas celebrations around the world? This is a great place for them to start! Here they can learn about Christmas traditions, songs, foods, and more from 44 countries around the world!

Schoolchildren at the Bernadotte International School in Denmark have created a World Wide Web Christmas Calendar. Open a new page each day this month to learn how Christmas and other winter holidays are celebrated in different countries and cultures. Children around the world contributed to the creation of this Web site.

If you want to provide your students with a couple more sites that provide background about Christmas celebrations around the world, I'd suggest these two:

• Use yahoo.com's search engine to do a search for "Christmas Around the World" sites. From the "results page" you'll be able to travel to Christmas celebrations in France, Denmark, Poland, the UK, Greenland, Singapore, Iceland, and more.
• A Search for the Meaning of Christmas offers links to sites such as "A Creole Christmas," "Christmas Down Under," "Christmas in Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Tradition," and Christmas celebrations on Prince Edward Island, in Boston (Massachusetts) and on a Victorian porch! Also included are links to many Hanukkah sites. And if your computer is sound-equipped, the site offers background Christmas music while you surf!

CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AROUND THE GLOBE WITH A "WORLD" OF CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES!

Art/Writing. If you could give any gift to the people of the world, what would that gift be? Draw a picture of your gift and write a sentence to explain what your gift is and why you chose it.

Geography. Hang a world map in the center of a bulletin board. Invite each student to write on a card the expression "Merry Christmas" in a different language. (For a source, see the "Merry Christmas" Around the World page of the WorldView Christmas Web site; the page provides translations of "Merry Christmas" for more than 20 countries.) Attach yarn to each card. Invite students to post the cards around the map on the bulletin and to extend each strand of yarn from a "Merry Christmas" card to the appropriate country.

Table Reading. Provide table reading practice using one of two Teaching Masters provided. The TMs provide tables showing the ten most popular holiday greeting cards mailed in the United States. Choose the Primary TM (practice for younger students) or the Upper Grade TM (for upper elementary students and above).
Answer Key for Primary TM:
1. Christmas, 2. 1 billion, 3. Mother's Day; 4. Halloween; 5. Thanksgiving; 6. 250 million, 7. Jewish New Year.
Answer Key for Upper Grade TM:
1. Christmas, 2. 1 billion; 3. 50 million; 4, Halloween; 5. 75 million; 6. 1 million; 7. 250 million; 8. February, because many more cards are mailed for Valentine's Day than are mailed for St. Patrick's Day; 9. 2,700,011,000; THINK ABOUT IT! Accept reasoned responses (probably not as many as are mailed at Christmas, but more than are mailed at Easter).
 

Gift Ideas. Sometimes students don't have the money to buy a small gift for another family member. Giving of themselves is a great gift idea. Students might

• Create a simple "coupon" or "gift certificate" form that children can fill in and give as a gift. The form should provide spaces labeled TO:, FROM:, and MY GIFT TO YOU:. Students might want to brainstorm gift ideas (ie., raking the yard, babysitting, serving breakfast in bed) before filling out their gift certificates.
• Create a "job jar" by decorating a large jar and putting inside it small folded slips of paper with odd jobs written on each. A few blank slips might be included so parents can write on them a preferred "job" for the student to do.

Math/Cooking. Use one of the recipes from the Christmas Recipes page of the WorldView Christmas Web site. Ask students to make a list of the ingredients they'll need to buy to make double the quantity called for in the recipe. Younger elementary students can list the ingredients needed to make 6 quarts of Christmas Punch or a double batch of Norwegian Christmas cookies. (The math required for these recipes is simple math.) Invite older students to list the ingredients to make 10 dozen Gingerbread Cookies, 72 Almond Cookies, or enough Mexican Rice to serve 12. This Web site offers many other recipes so you could pair off students and give each pair a different recipe to double. If you can, prepare one of the recipes.

Writing. Ask students to pretend they have pen pals in foreign countries. Their pen pals celebrate Christmas (or other holidays) in a way very different than they might do. Invite students to write letters to their pen pals to explain how their families celebrate the holidays.

Research. Invite students to research different Christmas symbols such as the Christmas card, the star, mistletoe, the poinsettia, holly, the Christmas tree, and Christmas carols. Also students might research the different faces of Santa Claus, including St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Santa Claus. Use the WorldView Christmas Web site as a starting point.

Article by Gary Hopkins

Our American Heritage
Santa Discovers America

Moments For Mom
Elisabeth K. Corcoran

24/7 Tutoring

Click A Tutor

The Daily Motivator

Homeschool Internet
Resource Center - Save browsing time by checking here first!

The Home School Academy - Your Evenings Free, no lesson plans, simple record keeping.

Homeschool Study Links - Edu-Links provides a wealth of educational links categorized by subject as a home study resource for all ages. 

Discount Curriculum Catalog

Essential Learning Institute - Affordable Learning Disability  Solutions for Homeschooling Families.
Easily Administered Computer Based Program for Correcting Learning Disabilities - Including: Dyslexia - ADD - ADHD - Reading and Perceptual Impairments
An Affordable Answer!