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Lesson Plans
American Masters - Truman Capote: Other Voices, Other Rooms -- This lesson uses Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory," to teach a lesson on characterization in writing.
The Gift of Holiday Traditions: Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas -- This page from EDSITEment features resources relating to winter holidays, and presents information about and activities relating to Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.
Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party -- In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students are invited to attend a 19th Century party as a character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." To play this role, students must understand the values and customs that Dickens' characters represented.
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Video
Zlateh the Goat (Windows Media) and (Real Video) -- With Hanukkah approaching, a poor farming family decides they must sell their only goat in order to have money to survive. When young Aaron is sent to town during a snowstorm to sell the goat, he learns a valuable lesson about friendship.
In the Month of Kislev (Windows Media) and (Real Video) -- In a small Polish town, as the villagers prepare for Hanukkah, two poor children stop under a wealthy families window to enjoy the smell of fresh potato pancakes.
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General Information
Hanukkah - December 4th - 11th
Hanukkah (or Chanukah), the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days.
Bodhi Day or Rohatsu - December 8th
Bodhi Day is a celebration of the Buddha’s awakening.
Santa Lucia's Day - December 13th
Santa Lucia's Day is the first day of the Christmas Celebration in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
- The Legends of Lucy of Syracuse website describes St. Lucia and some of the associated traditions.
- A website by a fifth grade class about holidays is quite good. The part about St. Lucia’s day has a description of the traditions and history of the holiday, a song and other links.
- Santa Lucia the festival of lights has a detailed description of the holiday and its origins. It also contains links to recipes etc.
Los Posadas - December 16th - 24th
Las Posadas (Spanish for "the inn") is a traditional Mexican festival which re-enacts Joseph's search for room at the inn.
- A brief description of this Mexican festival that re-enacts Joseph’s search for a room at the Inn can be found on a website from the University of Kansas celebrating diversity
- The Mexican Connect website also contains a good description of this tradition.
Winter Solstice 12/22
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and has been celebrated by many cultures around the world.
Christmas 12/25
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians believe the first celebration of Christmas was in Rome in 336 A.D.
Kwanzaa 12/26 - 1/1
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday about the festival of the first harvest of the crops. It begins on December 26, and lasts for seven days.
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