What multicultural dates do you celebrate?

**Malark** · 28-10-2008, 06:42 PM

HI all

Am in the process of trying to put together a multicultural folder, have printed off a calendar and no idea what to concentrate on. What are the main ones you celebrate? Which do the children seem to enjoy most? What dates have the most acvtivities/resources available?

x

**Dragonfly** · 28-10-2008, 08:22 PM

I do Diwali and chinese new year,(of course the usual easter christmas hallowean etc)

**sarah707** · 28-10-2008, 08:41 PM

There are sooo many things you could cover through the year you have to be selective.

1. I find out what children celebrate at home and any special dates in their lives - birthdays, weddings, family parties etc...

2. I think about what the children will see celebrated locally and what they are covering in Nursery / Playgroup...

3. I think about ones we can find out about that are a bit further afield like going into Manchester when the decorations are up for Chinese New Year...

4. I look at special theme days I might want to cover, like Fruity Friday (always fun), Mexican Independence Day (thank goodness for Dora), Hearing Dogs for the Deaf week (I used to be an audiologist so close to my heart), St George's Day, St Andrew's Day and that Welsh one * ducks as leeks fly past head

I get lots of ideas from the activities section on here as well.

Of course I check with parents ... some object to us doing Halloween or Beltane because they are pagan, so I will find another way of explaining what's happening...

That pretty much fills up my year!

**miffy** · 28-10-2008, 08:54 PM

Sarah - I am surprised at you "that Welsh one" !!!!!!!!

I do pretty much the same but I might also look at the way special days are celebrated around the world such as Christmas or Harvest festival

Miffy xx

**ajs** · 28-10-2008, 09:04 PM

sorry and feel free to shout here but aren't
both easter and christmas pagan festivals too

we're jewish although none of my mindees areso we may celebrate chanukah (jewish festival of light) or passover

we do all of the obvious ones too
we did some diwali candles last week and my little one was watching the shiny show today and told me that she had made candles for diwali too

she's 2 yrs old and not only did she remember what we did but she linked the memory to a tv programme

**barbarella68** · 28-10-2008, 11:16 PM

Are Easter and Christmas Pagan, I don't think so?I thought they were part of the Christian calendar or so my vicar says.

**ajs** · 29-10-2008, 12:00 AM

there are two schools of thought
many christians believe them to be pagan with a thin veil of christianity and many others believe them to be true christian festivals

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...43/pagan8.html

**manjay** · 29-10-2008, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by sarahnev707

There are sooo many things you could cover through the year you have to be selective.

1. I find out what children celebrate at home and any special dates in their lives - birthdays, weddings, family parties etc...

2. I think about what the children will see celebrated locally and what they are covering in Nursery / Playgroup...

3. I think about ones we can find out about that are a bit further afield like going into Manchester when the decorations are up for Chinese New Year...

4. I look at special theme days I might want to cover, like Fruity Friday (always fun), Mexican Independence Day (thank goodness for Dora), Hearing Dogs for the Deaf week (I used to be an audiologist so close to my heart), St George's Day, St Andrew's Day and that Welsh one * ducks as leeks fly past head

I get lots of ideas from the activities section on here as well.

Of course I check with parents ... some object to us doing Halloween or Beltane because they are pagan, so I will find another way of explaining what's happening...

That pretty much fills up my year!

Be careful!! Leeks and sheep coming your way

**sarah707** · 29-10-2008, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by manjay

Be careful!! Leeks and sheep coming your way

Oh no! Not the flying sheep!

**angeldelight** · 29-10-2008, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by ajs

there are two schools of thought
many christians believe them to be pagan with a thin veil of christianity and many others believe them to be true christian festivals

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...43/pagan8.html

thats it try to confuse us even more Mandy

We celebrate anything and everything - depending if we have the time to be honest

Luckly none of my parents mind what we do

Angel xx

**Malark** · 29-10-2008, 07:39 PM

Thanks everyone

**buildingblocks** · 29-10-2008, 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by sarahnev707

St George's Day, St Andrew's Day and that Welsh one * ducks as leeks fly past head

Do you not do the Irish one either (ducking the guiness a
and potatoes)

**sarah707** · 29-10-2008, 09:30 PM

Kids are going to Ireland on Friday... I will tell them to watch out for flying Guinness!

**tashaleee** · 31-10-2008, 07:34 PM

I tend to find out about the childrens backgrounds and what they celebrate at home and cover those when I can.

We do the usual Halloween, Christmas, Easter, plus Diwali and several other 'well known' ones (sorry brain has totally gone

)

I also try to include Remebrance Day and we always make paper poppies (its an important one for me).

Mostly parents dont object to anything I do with the children, though I did find it very difficult a few years ago when my son was about 6 and I wanted to do Christmas and I was looking after several muslim children (who obviously dont celebrate it) which caused a few issues for me

**Bushpig** · 31-10-2008, 09:28 PM

'sorry and feel free to shout here but aren't
both easter and christmas pagan festivals too'

The whole Christmas Tree/Easter Egg thing has nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas/Easter for Christians, it's secular with pagan beginnings... to Christians Christmas is symbolic of the birth of Christ and Easter, of his death.

**beerheaven** · 31-10-2008, 11:46 PM

I do the obvious ones like Easter and Christmas - sorry to be controversial!
In the past the children have enjoyed Chinese New Year, Divali, Eid. Plus we do national days like for example, Australia Day which is sometime in January, American Independence Day and so on.

**marion123** · 03-11-2008, 08:45 AM

here is a calender for 2009 datesJanuary 2009 Calendar

7
Islamic Ashura

26
Australia Day
Chinese New Year
19
Martin Luther King Jr. *
7
Save the Eagles Day
10
Islamic Ashura

February 2009 Calendar

2
Groundhog Day
Candlemas
24
Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras
14
Valentine's Day

25
Ash Wednesday
March 2009 Calendar
10
Purim
17
St. Patricks Day
20
First Day of Spring
April 2009 Calendar
5
Palm Sunday
9
Passover
12
Easter

22
Earth Day
10
Good Friday
13
Easter Monday

May 2009 Calendar
2
Join Hands Day
10
Mother's Day

12
Nurses Day
June 2009 Calendar
14
Flag Day

21
Father's Day
July 2009 Calendar
4
Independence Day *
14
Bastille Day
August 2009 Calendar
2
Friendship Day
September 2009 Calendar
21
International Day of Peace
28
Jewish Yom Kippur
25
Native American Day
22
First Day of Autumn
October 2009 Calendar
31
Halloween
3
Jewish Sukkot
November 2009 Calendar
5
Guy Fawkes Day
11
Veterans Day*

Remembrance Day
December 2009 Calendar
25
Christmas Day
27
Islamic Ashura
with things that could be celebrated