Winter Holidays
Hanukkah
November 27, 2013 - December 5, 2013 For eight days each November or December, Jews light candles in a special candleholder called a menorah. They do this to remember an ancient miracle in which one day's worth of oil burned for eight days in their temple. On Hanukkah, many Jews also eat special potato pancakes called latkes, sing songs, and spin a top called a dreidel to win chocolate coins, nuts, or raisins. -Scholastic |
Las Posada
December 16, 2013-December 24, 2013 In Mexico and many parts of Central America, people celebrate La Posada during the nine days before Christmas. It is a reenactment of the journey Joseph and Mary took to find shelter before the birth of their child, Jesus -Scholastic |
Kwanzaa
December 26, 2013-January 1, 2014 Kwanzaa, which means "First Fruits," is based on ancient African harvest festivals and celebrates ideals such as family life and unity. During this spiritual holiday, celebrated from December 26 to January 1, millions of African Americans dress in special clothes, decorate their homes with fruits and vegetables, and light a candleholder called a kinara. -Scholastic |
Christmas
December 25, 2013 People celebrate this Christian holiday by going to church, giving gifts, and sharing the day with their families. In some parts of Europe, "star singers" go caroling singing special Christmas songs as they walk behind a huge star on a pole. Santa Claus got his name from Saint Nicholas, a bishop of the town of Myra, who was known for being especially kind to children. Today, Myra is part of the country of Turkey. French children know Santa Claus as Père Noël. He usually wears a long red hooded robe with white fur around the edge. He carries presents in a basket on his back instead of a sack. He lives in Lapland. French children do not usually put out a stocking, but instead leave out their shoe. - Scholastic Christmas Around The World |
New Years
January 1, 2014 In many places people stay up late to see the old year out and the newyear in. Almost everywhere in the world church bells ring, horns toot, whistles blow, sirens shriek. London's Trafalgar Square and NewYork City's Times Square swarm with crowds of happy, noisy people. The hullabaloo expresses people's high spirits at holiday time. -Scholastic |
Chinese New Years
January 31, 2014 Many Chinese children dress in new clothes to celebrate the Chinese New Year. People carry lanterns and join in a huge parade led by a silk dragon, the Chinese symbol of strength. According to legend, the dragon hibernates most of the year, so people throw firecrackers to keep the dragon awake. In the Chinese lunar calendar each of the 12 years is named after an animal. According to Legend, Lord Buddha asked all the animals to come to him before he left the earth. Only 12 animals came to wish him farewell, and as a reward Buddha named a year after each one. - Scholastic |