Parenta Magazine December 2023 (smaller)

December, in the Western world, has long
been synonymous with the enchanting
spirit of Christmas. Yet, amidst the
shimmering lights and festive carols, this
month also hosts a tapestry of diverse
religious celebrations, each weaving its
own unique tale of faith and festivity.
Saint Nicholas Day (6th)
Beyond Christmas:
exploring December’s
multicultural festivals
This day remembers the birth of Saint
Nicholas, the inspiration behind the
concept of Santa Claus or, as we know him
in the UK, Father Christmas. Saint Nicholas
is believed to have secretly given gifts to
the poor and children in some European
countries leave a shoe outside their
bedrooms on the eve of St Nicholas Day.
Legend has it, that if they have been good,
Saint Nicholas will leave them a treat, and
if not, they can look forward to receiving a
lump of coal or a stick!
and celebrations
You can celebrate Saint Nicholas Day in
your setting by getting the children to
put out a shoe or sock on the night of
December 5th and have them come in on
the 6th to find a treat… hopefully!
Bodhi Day (8th)
This is the day that is observed in
many Buddhist communities across the
world marking the day that Siddhartha
Gautama, a wandering religious teacher,
and the founder of Buddhism, (the
Buddha), finally attained enlightenment
and the state of nirvana. He described
reaching this state in three stages:
the realisation of his past lives; the
knowledge of the laws of karma; and the
understanding of the laws of, and true
nature of the universe. The day is also
celebrated as Rōhatsu in Japan, and Laba
in China.
Why not celebrate Bodhi Day in your
setting by having a meditation/relaxation
session, listening to some calming music
and asking the children to notice how their
body feels in the moment? They could
also draw pictures about what makes
them happy to represent the states of bliss
obtained in nirvana.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast
Day (12th)
The 12th of December is the Feast Day of
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the Patron
Saint of Mexico. According to tradition,
in 1534, Mary appeared several times
to a Mexican peasant called Juan Diego
and once to his uncle, Juan Bernardino.
Mary asked them to build a chapel on
the site where she appeared. Juan told
the archbishop of Mexico City who was
initially sceptical, but when a miraculous
image of Mary appeared on Juan’s cloak,
the archbishop agreed, and a chapel was
erected, now known as the Basilica of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited
Catholic shrine in the world.
You could celebrate this day with an
art project to either draw the Lady of
Guadalupe (you can find images online)
or you could do a craft making red
roses, which were also said to appear
miraculously.
Hanukkah (7th - 15th)
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday,
the Jewish Festival of Lights. Many Jewish
households celebrate by lighting a special
candlestick (a menorah). Traditionally, this
represents how a small group of Jewish
people were able to survive in a temple
during a siege after their dwindling supply
of lamp oil lasted 8 days instead of just
one. After this time, the group emerged
from hiding victorious in their war with a
powerful Greek/Syrian army.
People celebrate by lighting one candle a
day and you could mark Hanukkah in your
setting by creating a battery-operated tea
light display in one corner of your room to
mark this time.
Yule (21st)
Yule is also known as Midwinter’s Day and
has the shortest amount of daylight and
the longest period of darkness. Wiccan
and Pagan people have celebrated
this time for centuries, with feasts and
celebrations to mark the time of the year
when the days begin to grow longer
again. One tradition is to burn the Yule log
to remind people that the sun will return.
Yule is one of the oldest winter festivals
and is commonly celebrated by Germanic
and Scandinavian people wherever they
are in the world.
In your setting, you could collect sticks,
leaves, pinecones, and other natural
elements to make a display showing our
connection to the natural world. You could
also make a sun/ moon/stars mobile and
hang them around the setting to remind
you of the cyclical nature of day and night,
as well as the seasons.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day
and Boxing Day (24th - 26th)
In the Christian tradition, Christmas Eve
marks the night on which Jesus was born
in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. The
Christmas story tells of how the Romans
ordered all the Jews to return to their
home village for a census. Joseph and his
heavily pregnant wife, Mary, journeyed
to Bethlehem where they could find no
place to stay since the city was full of other
travellers.
An innkeeper took pity on them and
offered them his stable for the night.
Mary gave birth to Jesus during the
night and tradition tells of multitudes
of angels appearing to shepherds in
nearby fields, proclaiming the birth of the
son of God. Christians around the world
celebrate this time with feasts and by
exchanging presents. Some cultures such
as Germany, Scandinavian countries and
Spain celebrate Christmas Eve more than
Christmas Day, gathering to sing carols
and dance around a Christmas tree.
Boxing Day is a British tradition sometimes
attributed to Queen Victoria and the British
gentry who gave their servants a rare day
off after the toils of Christmas Day. Others
believe that the term derives from early
churches opening their charity boxes to
distribute to the poor on the day after
Christmas.
You can celebrate the run-up to Christmas
by creating Christmas cards, baking
Christmas cookies, offering a ‘secret Santa’
or making Christmas decorations and
putting up a Christmas tree.
Zarathosht Diso (26th/27th)
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest
monotheistic religions and was founded
by the Prophet Zoroaster in Iran more
than 3,000 years ago. Zarathosht Diso
falls around the 26th or 27th of December
depending on the Iranian calendar and is
when Zoroastrians mark the death of their
prophet, Zarathustra. The day is marked
across the global Zoroastrian community
by reflecting on the prophet’s life, praying
at the temple, or studying religious texts.
You could celebrate this day by talking
about the different beliefs that people have
and showing the children a map of the
world, explaining that different countries
have different beliefs. You could make a
display showing the origins of some of
the world’s religions, marking Iran as the
origin of Zoroastrianism.
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34 November 2023 | parenta.com
parenta.com | December 2023 35