Cultural Competence A-Z: H is for Holidays

There is beauty in all holidays

Who doesn't love a good holiday??

It's a time to spend with family, engage in traditions, and oftentimes stuff yourself with your favorite foods. Here in the US, our time off from work and school is centered around Christian holidays. We always have Christmas off and we frequently don't go to school right before or after Easter. There are also holidays that are distinctly American such as Thanksgiving, Fourth of July, and holidays that don't mean a day off from school, but are expected to be celebrated (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day). However, not all people celebrate holidays in the same way. One of the tenants that the United States was founded on is freedom of religion. Although not as much attention is paid to some religions, there are many here in the US. And each religion has its own holidays and own celebrations.

Use this to do an activity with your child. There are lots of ways to use holidays to learn about other religions. Here are some suggestions. Choose your favorite or try all of them! Or better yet, let your child pick what would be fun and interesting to them:

• Make a list of religious organizations in your town/city/county/state: This one is almost guaranteed to surprise you. How many have you heard of before? How many are completely new? Better yet, don't just learn about the organizations - visit one!
• Learn about one holiday for each religious organization/major religion: Treat this as a scavenger hunt and have fun with it! When do these holidays fall? Do we have school during these holidays? What are the different practices?
• Incorporate a holiday tradition of another religion (or another part of the same religion that celebrates differently than you do):  You may just end up developing your family's new favorite tradition!
• Invite friends of other religions to celebrate with you: This is something that we grew up doing in my family and it's a time-honored treasure. It was always so much fun to share the holiday and celebrations with loved ones. The fact that they did not celebrate the exact same thing never mattered. Your children will love it as well. Who knows? Maybe your friends will return the favor and invite you to their holiday table as well!

Which activities will you try with your kids? Which sound like the most fun? Were there any religions that you didn't know about at all? Did you find a new tradition that you love? Leave a comment below.

Don't forget to check back next week to for the next letter - I! Or even better, sign up for the newsletter and you won't miss a post! 

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