The Grinch and Holiday Traditions around the World

We’ve had a very exciting few weeks! The Grinch sent us packages every other day from a different location around the world. First, we got a letter from the Grinch, who was still in Whoville, explaining how he now loved Christmas and wanted to learn more about Christmas traditions, as well as other holiday traditions around the world.

 

His first stop? The North Pole! The Grinch sent us the book Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene and Christmas Time by Gail Gibbons. The first day, we read Santa’s Stuck and completed this craft.

The second day, we read Christmas Time and began filling out a chart to track each holiday’s symbols, traditions, and country of origin, which we would complete for every holiday he visited. The students also completed a worksheet where they drew and labeled two Christmas traditions they learned about. Our next Grinchy package came from Mexico, where the Grinch taught us about Las Posadas.

We got a real poinsettia, as well as a piñata! You can imagine the kids’ excitement! The first day, we learned that hitting a piñata is a tradition that children in Mexico take part in each night of Las Posadas. So, the kids all took turns whacking the piñata (that looked like a burro, they learned). The second day, we read The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie DePaola and they each made paper poinsettias of their own. From Mexico, the Grinch traveled to Africa to learn about Kwanzaa. 

He sent us a postcard from Ethiopia, along with simply Kwanzaa book and directions for making a handprint kinara. The students again completed a worksheet where they drew and labeled two Kwanzaa traditions they learned about. Then we made handprint kinaras, along with a poem we found in The Mailbox Magazine.

Next, the Grinch was off to Israel! In this mystery package, the kids found it hilarious when they opened it and it was filled with toilet paper tubes! 

We read an informational book about Hanukkah, and then worked together to create three class menorahs.

Our sixth Grinchy package came from Sweden.It happened to arrive on December 13^th – St. Lucia Day! He sent us materials to make candle-wreath crowns, just like the ones St. Lucia wore.

The Grinch’s final package came from India. In it was a book about Diwali. We used the information we learned to complete the worksheet where they drew and labeled two Diwali traditions. The Grinch encouraged us to take a look at our now-completed chart and compare the traditions of all the holidays we learned about. Next week, we will be using Venn diagrams to do this. After winter vacation, the studnets will be sharing some of their own family traditions with the class in a short presentation. We’ll keep you posted! Happy Holidays!