Tips for Studying Christmas Around the World
When I taught public school for six years, I always taught a unit
at Christmas time. One of my biggest motivations for a
Christmas unit was the opportunity to share the story of Christ’s
birth. Each year I began my Christmas unit with the true story
of Christmas. Then, I moved to traditions of countries around
the world. By having a Christmas Around the World unit study, I
was able to talk to my students about Christ and His coming to
the world.
To study Christmas Around the World, here are a few tips.
1. Take a break from your regular schedule and enjoy the
Christmas season with your children. There are so many
activities you can incorporate into your holidays that are
educational. Go ahead; you have permission to put away your
regular studies and learn something important about Christ’s
birth
2. Choose the countries you wish to study.
3. Find activities and recipes that relate to that country’s
traditions.
4. Choose books and/or sites that correlate to each country you
choose to study. You may choose one a day, or one every few days,
or one a week, whatever works with your schedule and family!
Since St. Nicholas Day is in a few days, I thought I’d share it’s
legend from Germany. Before sharing German customs, you should
find Germany on the globe or map. Also, look up the way you say
“Merry Christmas” in German. There are several Christmas
traditions we have from Germany, but I will only share St.
Nicholas Day.
Germany begins celebrating Christmas on St. Nicholas Day,
December 6. Children leave a shoe or boot outside their door
when they go to sleep on December 5. St. Nicholas, patron saint
of children, moves from one house to another, carrying a book of
sins in which all the misdeeds of children are recorded.
Depending on how good a child is, St. Nicholas fills the shoes
with goodies. Good children receive gifts or delicious holiday
edibles. Bad children receive twigs in their shoes.
You might want to add this tradition to your annual customs. Or,
you may want to celebrate St. Nicholas Day, German-style, just
this year. Have your children put their shoes outside their
bedroom door. At night, put some candy, fruit or small toy in
the shoes.
A favorite sweet from Germany is Lebkuchen. Enjoy making it with
your children.
Lebkuchen (Germany)
4 Tbs honey
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 ½ flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup cocoa
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 egg
½ cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs lemon juice
Preheat oven at 400 F.
Put honey, sugar and butter in pan on low heat, until butter
melts. Take pan off heat and let cool.
Sift flour, baking powder, cocoa, ginger and allspice in bowl.
Add egg yolk and set egg white aside.
Mix warm honey, butter, and sugar into flour with metal spoon.
With clean hands, squeeze mixture into a ball. Add few drops
water if it won’t stick together.
Roll mixture on floured board until it is ¼ inch thick. Cut
shapes with cookie cutters.
Make a hole at the top of each cookie. Lift cookies onto greased
cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
Let cookies cool on wire rack. Sift powdered sugar in bowl. Mix
2 tsp of egg white and lemon juice to make icing.
Add food coloring if you want. Spoon icing into icing bag.
Squeeze bag over each cookie, making patterns with the icing.
When the icing dries, thread ribbons through hole of your
lebkuchen. Hang up or eat them now.
Christmas Around the World is an excellent study at this time of
year. Choose this unit study and your children will learn
geography, math, writing, reading, music, literature and history.
Your children will have so much fun, they won’t even know they
are learning!
To save you some time, I’ve compiled a special book, Christmas
Around the World. To read more about it, and Family Christmas
Traditions, click here:
http://www.ChristmasCelebrationIdeas.com‘
If you already signed up for our Advent Countdown and Special Report, you already have a direct link to the Christmas Around the World Unit Study
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© Kerry Beck, 2007
You have permission to reprint this article, as long as you don’t make any changes and include the bio below.
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Kerry Beck wants to give you a free Advent Countdown to use in your Christmas & Advent celebration this year. Her package will also include Christmas around the world unit study.