Celebrate the World!

 

The other day we took a ride around the neighborhood to look at the beautiful Christmas lights.  As we drove around there were, of course, the houses with amazing lights and decorations.  There were also many houses that had none. M said, “They need to put their lights up.” I told him that not everyone decorates and that’s ok. I said maybe they don’t celebrate Christmas.  I wanted to explain how there are so many religions out there that have their own customs and celebrations, but the moment passed as they began to cheer excitedly at the next brightly lit house.  We have brushed on the subject a couple of times before, but we have never really had a good discussion about it since they are so young. This made me think of how I can teach them better about the world.  I want them to learn and appreciate all of the beautiful celebrations the world has to offer even if they are too far away for us to experience personally.

My house…just kidding. Beautiful, though.

Starting this blog has opened up the world for me.  I have readers from all around the world and that is amazing! (Thank you, dear readers) I hope to learn about their (your) celebrations through here as well. With this opportunity I have also met some very creative and intelligent bloggers from amazing lands if only through social media. I follow and have joined a number of communities dealing with bilingualism, biculturalism, the Latin world and multiculturalism. I was even lucky enough to be asked to join Multicultural Kids Blog (MKB).    Through them I am educating myself about the great traditions of the world so then maybe I can share what I learn with my kids.

One of the things the MKB does is a festive card swap.  I am so excited about this one. I wrote a previous post about it here. It’s such a great idea. I had a pen pal when I was younger and loved writing to and receiving letters from her. We have received two of our three cards so far and they are so beautiful.  I love the stories they share and feeling like my kids and I have made new friends. (Sorry we didn’t include a letter, too. I wasn’t sure if we should. We owe you, sweet families).

Through this great community, I also have the opportunity to receive music and books for review.  This is my favorite part.  I received Little Mandarin‘s music on ITUNES  to share the beautiful music with my little ones and I received DARIA Celebrate the Season CD with great holiday music. We love the new music we have to dance to and cuddle to. I mention these to show that without joining the blogging community I would never have found such great things to show my kids. Thank you, again!

Here is my new plan.

• Keep practicing our Spanish at home, of course
• Keep reading books in Spanish, of course
• Introduce something new from another culture as often as possible
• Keep researching and learning from my fabulous and worldly fellow bloggers
• Find cultural activities suitable for little ones nearby or online

I highly recommend this series on MKB to help learn about celebrations around the world. I would read it for days, if I had the time.  It is full of information and very thoughtfully put together: http://multiculturalkidblogs.com/christmas-different-lands-2014/. It’s a fun way to learn traditions, recipes and crafts that you may not have heard about before.  I know I hadn’t.

Here is an activity kit you can buy with activities from around the world.  I just bought this and I love it! It has taught me so much already and can’t wait to show my kids. http://multiculturalkidblogs.com/product/celebrate-christmas-around-the-world/

Let’s keep this community growing so we can all become World Citizens! (I love that saying)

What holidays do you celebrate?

What are the most fun celebrations you would love to share with others?

(If you would like to share my blog, I would be so grateful. You can find it under www.bilingualeyes.wordpress.com. You can also find it in Spanish at www.bilinguazo.worpress.com and on Facebook under www.facebook.com/bilinguazo. And don’t forget to hit me up on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bilinguazo. Thanks a bunch!)

Advertisement