We are a group of second grade students from Paine Primary School in Trussville, Alabama. Our class is learning about different celebrations around the world. Below are descriptions of holidays and events many people celebrate in the USA. Please scroll to the bottom, click "Comments", and tell us about a different holiday or event that you celebrate.
Christmas Holiday by Lacey and Trevor:
At Christmas, children look for a jolly, white bearded man in a red suit named Santa. Santa Claus comes down the chimney and brings lots of toys. Most children want to get their picture made with him at the malls. Christmas is celebrated on December 25th. It is a time to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.
Memorial Day by Claire and Ben:
Memorial Day honors American men and women who died while serving their country during a war. Americans celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday in May.
Thanksgiving by Morgan and Luke:
Thanksgiving Day is a day set aside to give thanks for the harvest. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims and Indians. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
Valentine's Day by Matthew and Jamya:
Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14th. It is a romantic holiday. People exchange cards or small gifts, or flowers to friends to show love and affection.
Labor Day by Rylee and Kerrigan:
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a day that honors all working people.
Easter by Zach and Victoria:
Easter is a day to celebrate the life and ressurection of Jesus Christ. It is also a day that the Easter Bunny comes and leaves baskets of treats and dyed eggs for children of all ages. Children have Easter egg hunts and eat lots of candy.
New Year's Day by Joriann and Michael:
New Year's Day is celebrated on January 1st. It is the first day of the new year. People celebrate with fireworks, parades, and many football games.
Halloween by Jacob and Briana:
Halloween is celebrated on October 31st. Children dress up in colorful costumes and go door to door saying, "Trick-or-Treat." People at the door give out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Some people have costume parties to celebrate.
The Fourth of July by Tailyn and Nasir:
The Fourth of July is a day to celebrate America's birthday. It is the day we celebrate our independence from England. It is the day we became our own country. We celebrate with fireworks and parades.
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American Christmas Traditions by Mrs. E's class
My family tradition is to put up a Christmas tree. We go out to eat and spend time with each other. - AJ
We put up a Christmas tree. - Brody
I give my family presents - Grace
We decorate a Christmas tree, give gifts to people, and take a picture with Santa Claus. - Abby
We put up a Christmas tree. We love adding the ornaments. - Maegan
We give people thanks, and give gifts. We put up a Christmas tree. - Jon
I sit by the fire on Christmas Eve. - Alyssa
We have a Christmas Play. - Stone
We have a feast and invite relatives. We also pray. We give each other gifts and we decorate a tree. - Natalie
We invite people over to our house for Christmas. - Mackenzie
We put up Christmas decorations. - Michael
We put up our tree and we pray. - Samya
Children in Poland are visited by Santa Claus, we call him Mikolaj, on Santa Claus Day which is December 6, the feast day of St. Nicholas. On Wigilia Day, which is Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree is decorated. We use apples, candy, colorfully wrapped chocolates, along with glass ornaments, lights, and paper chains to decorate our Christmas trees. Then, on Christmas Eve we look to the sky hoping to be the first one to see the Gwiazdka, or the little star of Bethleham. Most families gather for a large feast called Wigilia, Christmas supper. Before the meal, straw is placed under a white tablecloth to help us remember that the Christ child was born in a manger. The meal begins with the breaking of the Oplatek, which is a thin wafer made from flour and water. It is meant to remind us of the importance of Christmas, God, and family. Traditional foods at Christmas supper include beet soup, noodles, and poppy seed cake. No meat is served. After the meal, many families sing koledy or Christmas carols. Then we attend midnight mass which we call Pasterka, or Mass of the Shepherds.
ReplyDeleteJanuary the 6th in France is "la fête des Rois Mages" or Epiphany.
ReplyDeleteWe buy a "galette des rois" in bakeries or we sometimes bake it.
"Une fève", a lucky charm is hidden in the cake.
The one who finds it is the King or the Queen, but only for a day!
Aid Lekbir is celebrated in MOROCCO today.We slaughter the sheep,pray and vist relatives.
ReplyDeletesaidani miloudi.
Sacrificing Festival: People in Turkey celebrate the day God sent a ram instead of Prophet Abraham being sacrificized. We call this festival as Sacrificing Bayram. We sacrifice rams and cattle and then give one third of it to the poor people who can't buy meat much.The other one third of it to the relatives. And We eat the rest. Then we visit our relatives and ask their prays for us. We give gifts to the close relatives and the children.
ReplyDeleteHi Paine Primary School,
ReplyDeleteWe are a class of Year 3 & 4 students from St Clair School which is in Dunedin, New Zealand.
We are also studying celebrations around the world.
We thought we'd tell you a little bit about our Christmas. It's quite different to yours!
We have just done a Venn Diagram to show the similarities and differences between a Northern Hemisphere Christmas and a Southern Hemisphere Christmas.
Here are some interesting differences about a Southern Hemisphere Christmas:
- Christmas is in Summer in New Zealand
- We go swimming at the beach on Christmas Day
- We drink cool drinks to keep us cold
- We can have a BBQ for our Christmas dinner
- we wear shorts and t-shirts
- we often go on holiday around Christmas time, especially camping
- it's often very sunny so we have to keep putting on lots of sun block!
- we can go to the beach and make sandcastles
- we often play an outdoor game like cricket, soccer or rugby with our family on Christmas day
Somethings that are the same as your Christmas:
- we still have presents
- we have Santa come to visit on Christmas Eve (but we don't see him!)
- we have a big meal with our families
- we have Christmas trees
- we play with our presents
- it only comes once a year
We've had fun talking about this and writing to you.
Room 11
Here in Nagaland (Northeast India) we celebrate Christmas like in the West - stars, trees, carols, gifts, etc. In fact the state capital Kohima looks beautiful at night with all the lights. Since most people in the state are Christian (Baptists, Catholic, Revivals) Christmas is a grand celebration - a time to come together and enjoy! More news about us will soon come on www.loyolajakhama.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteIn Italy the Crib is an importany tradition. Different sizes and materials depending on taste. Also most churches have one
ReplyDeletehttp://talesandtraditions.blogspot.com/