The Holidays around the World iPeriod has allowed students to travel outside of Rome, Georgia and experience a little taste of the celebrations held all around the globe. We had lots of fun learning about different cultures, trying new foods, making crafts, and celebrating a ton of holidays in a short period of time.
We kicked off the semester with "Las hogueras de San Juan," a festival from Spain where locals write out a regret for the year and then jump over a huge bonfire to symbolize letting go of the regret and moving on. Unfortunately, we could not build a bonfire in my classroom, but we were able to have just as much fun jumping over a candle in the courtyard.
After "Las Hogueras," the holidays have gotten better and better. Talk Like a Pirate Day got off to a swashbuckling start with blow-up sword fights, pirate jokes, and hearty fare. We celebrated Dwali by eating dozens of different snacks (some not for the faint of heart) and making fun crafts to decorate the classroom. I cooked up a pot of dumplings for Chinese New Year, and the students loved making their own lanterns. Another popular holiday was Pashan, the kite flying festival. We were blessed with a perfect day to be able to build and fly our own kites.
Some of our holidays have been a little atypical to keep things interesting. For any Seinfeld fans, Festivus was hilarious with the designing of our own Festivus poles and airing of grievances. Calan Gaef was another fun one. As a Celtic holiday, it is shrouded in lots of superstition and traditions. We bobbed for apples (which is harder than the students thought!) and wrote our names on rocks. The rock that disappeared the next day was said to be the person who would not make it to the next year's celebration. Thankfully, everyone's rock was safe the next morning. My favorite was Krampusnacht, a German holiday celebrating Santa's evil helper: Krampus. We made Krampus cards, watched a parade of Krampus from Germany, and the students even received their own chocolate coal.
I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek into the fun holidays we have been learning about and taking part in! It just shows us once again what a diverse and amazing world we live in.
