Christmas Around the World

 

Whose Present , a neat listening activity.

The Busy Elf, an entertaining Christmas song.

Santa’s Little Helper, a talking story.

A Letter To Santa , a sequencing activity.

At the Candy Lab you can upload a picture, or use of theirs, to appear on an M & M candy. Then, using the site’s text-to-speech feature, you can have your candy talk or sing.

DRAWMINOS  Set up and knock down virtual dominos

 

 

SEND, OR EVEN WRITE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL: At Emoticarolers, you can pick a few emoticons, choose a Christmas carol,  and send it off to a friend or just paste the url on a teacher blog or website. A group of emoticons then sing your carol of choice and, even better, show the words as they sing them.  But that’s not all. If you want, you can write your own words to the carol they sing.

 

SING A MERRY MESSAGE:The Merry Message comes from Better Homes and Gardens. Have Santa Claus deliver an audio message either by recording your own voice or by using the text-to-speech feature. Students can then post the link to their message on a blog or website.

 

MAKE A GINGERBREAD MAN:The Gingerbread Man With Everything lets you create your own virtual…gingerbread man and send or post the link.

 

 

 In IRELAND, children often put out Christmas sacks instead of stockings.

It is tradition to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness out as a snack for Santa.

 

NOLLAIG SHONA DHUIT!

 

 

In SPAIN, Papa Noel delivers his presents by climbing up balconies.

On January 6, the three wise men come to visit and also leave

gifts for the children.

 

FELIZ NAVÏDAD!

 

 

In MEXICO, children sometimes leave their shoes out instead of stockings.

On Christmas Eve there is a parade of singers carrying bells and candles on top of long poles. They wind through the streets until they get to the local church.

 

FELIZ NAVIDAD Y PROSPERO AÑO NUE VO!!!

 

 

In BRITAIN, children write their letters to Father Christmas and then throw them into the fireplace so they will float up the chimney and fly to the North Pole. If the lists catch fire first, they have to rewrite them.

 

 

 

History

taken from http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmassymb.htm

The Christmas TreeThe Christmas Tree originated in Germany in the 16th century. It was common for the Germanic people to decorate fir trees, both inside and out, with roses, apples, and colored paper. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to light a Christmas tree with candles

 

he was struck with the beauty of the starlight shining through the branches of a small fir tree outside his home. He duplicated the starlight by using candles attached to the branches of his indoor Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was not widely used in Britain until the 19th century. It was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's.

The Candy CaneCandy canes have been around for centuries, but it wasn't until around 1900 that they were decorated with red stripes and bent into the shape of a cane. They were sometimes handed out during church services to keep the children quiet. One story that is often told about the origin of the candy cane is as follows:

 

In the late 1800's a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols of Christ's love and sacrifice through the Candy Cane. First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind. When looked at with the crook on top, it looks like a shepherd's staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. If you turn it upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name. The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas, so everyone would remember what Christmas is all about.

 

 Santa ClausThe original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century. He was very pious from an early age, devoting his life to Christianity. He became widely known for his generosity for the poor. But the Romans held him in contempt. He was imprisoned and tortured. But when Constantine became emperor of Rome, he allowed Nicholas to go free. Constantine became a Christian and convened the Council of Nicaea in 325. Nicholas was a delegate to the council. He is especially noted for his love of children and for his generosity. He is the patron saint of sailors, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. He is also, of course, the patron saint of children. The Dutch kept the legend of St. Nicholas alive. In 16th century Holland, Dutch children would place their wooden shoes by the hearth in hopes that they would be filled with a treat.

 

To enjoy our Santa's Secret Village custom games, simply click on any of the graphics below.  

 

 Decpratea gingerbread house on line

http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_gingerbread_baby_house.htm

 

 

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