The Importance of Teaching Children About Holidays Traditions

What do the Holidays Mean?

by Agodi Alagbe

Last December my son came home from preschool one day and asked me. "Mommy, what do we celebrate?" I did not understand the question at first until he clarified, "Do we celebrate Christmas or Hannukka or Kwanzaa?" "We celebrate Christmas," I responded. "Well, some of my friends at school celebrate Christmas, too, and some friends celebrate Hannukah and Kwanzaa."

I took advantage of this starter and pressed on, "Do you know why we celebrate Christmas?" His reply was, "because we get to see Santa and have decorations and presents." Okay, so we needed some education on the subject. And that's the point. How many of our children (and even adults) really understand and internalize the true meaning of the holidays we celebrate?

This was the beginning of several conversations about the holidays that we had over the season. I told him that Christmas was the birthday of Jesus (he could relate to birthdays), and because Jesus was all about love, it was a special period to show love to one another. "So, do we get to have a birthday party for Jesus and buy him presents?" In a way we do with all the feasting and exchange of gifts.

His questions about the holidays that his friends celebrate prompted us to do research on other holidays. We read books, searched the Internet and asked friends about their holidays. It was as much education for myself as for him, and we both had fun. My son and I discussed what the different holidays had in common and what was different (a good way to tie in the concept of compare contrast). It was nice for him to see that there were more things the same than different among us.

The holidays present a great opportunity to teach our children not just about their own faith and celebrations but also the celebrations of other cultures. The diversity of cultures represented in our community brings such a rich flavor to the holiday season. For some, the holidays may not bring the cheer that it brings to others. We talked about people who may be sad during the holidays for various reasons like no food, no home, and no family. My son remembered how his preschool class had a bake sale to support the Katrina victims last year. We also talked about the fact that the holidays are a good time to reach out to those in need (it's never too early to teach children empathy). I also found that a particularly effective way to curb the desire to have every toy and gadget in the store or on TV is to have conversations about those who are much less fortunate.

As we are thrown into the frenzy of shopping, decorating, and eating this season let us take some time out to have conversations about the real essence of the holidays we celebrate. And from our family to yours, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza and Feliz Navidad.