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| Didax "Class Ideas" Newsletter Archive |
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Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas, oh my! A festive and exciting time of year is here. As your students prepare for their families' celebrations, Class Ideas brings you information and ideas about the multicultural celebrations that December holds. You can help your students learn about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas with the downloadable activity pages. The information-rich websites will give you substantial background on what these holidays mean. And hopefully, Humorous Happenings will bring you some holiday cheer.
We also have a special holiday gift for you: a Class Ideas subscriber special of 20% off any order at Didax.com.
I can't wait for the snowy weather that winter brings here in New England and the chance to spend time with family and friends. Wherever you may be, best wishes for a very happy holiday season from Didax.
Anna Mullen, Editor |
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| December's Celebrations |
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 We all know that Winter brings many days of celebration. Some of us celebrate Hanukkah, some Christmas, some Kwanzaa. Perhaps you even celebrate more than one of these holidays. Chances are, at least one of your students celebrates each of these holidays. Bringing these holidays into the classroom is a great way to teach children about cultures other than their own.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah, which means ?dedication? in Hebrew, is celebrated for eight days and nights. The celebration commemorates the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem after the Jews? victory over the Syrians in 165 BC.
In 168 BC, the Jews? holy Temple was taken and dedicated to the worship of the Greek god, Zeus. The Greek king of Syria, Antiochus, had forbidden Jewish rituals and commanded Jews to worship Greek gods. Most Jews were angered and fought back.
The rebellion began in a village near Jerusalem, Modiin. Greek soldiers gathered villagers and ordered them to worship an idol and eat pork, both forbidden to Jews. A Greek officer asked Mattathias, the Jewish High Priest, to participate. He refused, however, another villager offered to take his place. This angered Mattathias who then killed the villager and the officer. Mattathias? son and other villagers attacked the soldiers.
After the attack, Mattathias and his family went into hiding in the nearby mountains. There, they were joined by many other Jews who helped them form a small, poorly-armed army. This group attacked the Greeks whenever they had the opportunity.
A year after the rebellion started, Mattathias died, leaving his son, Judah Maccabee, in charge. In three years, the Jews overcame the Greeks. They returned to their holy Temple and found many things broken or missing. After repairing and cleansing the Temple, they planned a rededication ceremony at which they wanted to light the lamps.
After much searching, the Jews could only find a small oil flask, containing only enough oil to light the lamps for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. This allowed enough time for them to find more oil.
Today, the candles of the menorah are lit to commemorate this eight-day miracle.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January 1 by people of African descent around the world. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Pan-African studies, to celebrate the African culture and to build and bring unity to the African community. Kwanzaa, sometimes spelled Kwanza, comes from a Swahili phrase that means "first fruits."
Kwanzaa celebrates seven principles. These are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Kwanzaa is a time for people to reflect upon these principles and what they mean in their lives.
There are seven main symbols of Kwanzaa. Presented first in Swahili and second in English, they are: mazao - the crops, mkeka - the mat, kinara - the candle holder, muhindi - the corn, mishumaa saba - the seven candles, kikombe cha umoja - the unity cup, and zawadi - the gifts.
The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red, and green. Black stands for the people. Red stands for the people?s struggle. Green stands for hope and the future. These colors are used in decorations. Decorations also include traditional African items such as brightly patterned cloth, baskets, art, and harvest symbols.
To celebrate, the symbols are placed in a certain way in a special place in the home. Seven candles are placed in the kinara, one black, three green, and three red. The seven candles stand for the seven principles. The kinara is placed on the mat and the other symbols are placed on or near the mat.
The family gathers each evening to light candles. Each evening, the candle that stands for the principle of that day is lit. The first candle lit is the black unity candle. Each day the candles from the earlier days are lit along with the candle for that day. When the candle of the day is lit, the family talks about that day?s principle.
Family and friends also celebrate during the day in many different ways. They can sing songs, give gifts (usually to children and always including books), make crafts, or study more about the culture. Towards the end of the holiday, the community gathers for a feast called karamu. Kwanzaa is a very special and meaningful time for many families all over the world.
Christmas
Christmas, a Christian holiday whose name comes from an early English phrase, Cristes maesse, which means Mass of Christ, is celebrated on December 25. On this day, many go to church, gather with friends and family, feast, and exchange gifts.
Christmas includes many customs that originate from many cultures. These customs range from decorating and feasting to gift giving and sending cards. The giving of gifts most likely started in ancient Rome and northern Europe. Small gifts were given to friends and family at year-end celebrations. The Middle Ages gave us carols. Italy had a tradition of re-enacting the birth of Christ and so began the tradition of the nativity scene. Other customs, such as decorating trees and sending Christmas cards became popular in the 1800's.
With the actual date of Christ?s birth being unknown, the reason for Christmas being celebrated on December 25 very likely comes from the existence of pagan festivals long ago. The earliest reference to December 25 as Jesus? birth date appears on a Roman calendar in 336 AD. At this time, many cultures celebrated at year?s end.
The ancient Romans celebrated their harvest god, Saturn, during Saturnalia at this time of year. This was a major celebration, but Christianity was spreading and this celebration of pagan customs alarmed the Christians. The celebrations were first forbidden, but that didn?t work. After reconsideration, it was decided to turn the celebration into a Christian one. Story also tells that Christmas was assigned the date of December 25 to compete against the Persian?s celebration of Mithras. At the time, Mithraism was a main competitor of Christianity.
No matter what it celebrates, each of these holidays offers us a quiet time to spend with our families and friends. In these busy times, it?s so hard to find this meaningful time to spend together. Don?t forget to take time to make some memories this holiday season. |
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| Downloadable Holiday Activity Pages |
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 It's time to get into the holiday spirit. These activities are an easy way to get your students thinking and learning about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Choose the holiday you'd like activities about, download, and away you go! |
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| December Holiday Internet Links |
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 There are countless holiday resource websites. Here are a few especially helpful links to get you started! From the official Kwanzaa website to a lesson plan on Christmas in Colonial America, you're sure to find some useful information for your students. |
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| Humorous Happenings |
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 Thanks so much to all of you who have sent in your stories! It's been great getting a laugh out of the emails I've been receiving. Now it's time to share some holiday giggles with all of the Class Ideas subscribers!
From an anonymous Class Ideas reader:
My fourth grade advanced math students had been listening to a guest speaker talking about his career as a CPA. The speaker asked the class if they had given any thought to what they wanted to be when they grew up. One of the little girls eagerly raised her hand and when called upon said "I want to be either a math teacher or a normal teacher."
And J. Gardner writes:
We had just finished learning a bit about the cultural background of the students in our class as part of United Nations' Day. To see what they had taken in, I asked a few questions. One was, "Who can tell me the name of a famous building in Italy?" C put up his hand quickly and when asked, gave his answer with confidence.
"The Bending Pizza!" |
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| January Newsletter Theme: Developing Algebraic Thinking |
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 Next month, Class Ideas will be packed with Developing Algebraic Thinking resources. Look forward to an article from Don Balka, many links to great Internet resources, and of course, downloadable activities and a great subscriber-only special. |
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