Celebrating Multicultural Holidays

In our increasingly multicultural society, the holiday season can mean many different things to different families. Some schools have chosen to avoid celebrating Christmas in the classroom, but the holiday season can be a fantastic opportunity for exploring different holidays and introducing students to different cultural traditions. This is also a great time to get families involved. To get a better picture of what traditions your students celebrate, send home a survey asking parents about traditions celebrated at home. This way, you can ensure the holidays that are meaningful to your students are the ones being celebrated in your classroom. Surveying families can also help you plan a meaningful and culturally sensitive program for the entire school year. Keep in mind, not all important holidays are celebrated in December.

Once you are aware of which holidays are meaningful to your students, invite people from other cultures into your classroom to speak to students about traditions, cook up some traditional foods and create cool crafts. Try to track down some "artifacts" like clothing or decorations. While learning about food, music, clothes and traditions that are specific to a particular holiday is a great way to promote understanding and tolerance, don't forget to explore some of the bigger ideas that apply to all holidays like:

• the same holiday can be celebrated in different ways
• different families celebrate different holidays
• not every family celebrates every holiday
• every holiday is meaningful  

Another approach to celebrating the holiday season is to invite your class to invent their very own holiday. Students can research winter holidays that are celebrated around the world and share their findings with the class. Encourage students to discuss their favourite symbols, clothes, colours, foods and traditions from each celebration, then combine these favourites to create a classroom holiday. Pick a date and celebrate!

Ensure holiday celebrations in your classroom will be a success with these simple tips:

• try to involve family members
• keep your regular classroom routines
• create simple activities
• choose open-ended activities that give students choices