Tasting holidays from ‘round the world

Christmas or Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Las Posadas -- these students sampled half a dozen different customs.Paige Webb’s second-grade students at Andersen Elementary School got a whirlwind tour of holidays throughout the world this month. Among their favorites to learn about was Eid ul-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that commemorates the end of Ramadan -- but few in the class would want to celebrate it.

The three-day holiday, which includes a feast, prayers and gift giving, comes at the end of an entire month of fasting. Muslims around the world wait for a sign from above before they can commence celebrating.

“You can’t eat until after you see the new moon,” said Patrick Jennings, 8, of Newport Beach. “At the end, you go to a big party and feast for about three days. They shoot off fireworks and you paint your hands.”

Webb’s students didn’t have to fast for a month, but they did get to paint hands -- even if they were paper ones. In addition, they sampled holiday celebrations throughout the world, from Mexico to Asia to the Middle East.

Webb, the daughter-in-law of Newport Beach Mayor Don Webb, conceived the holiday unit to broaden her students’ horizons. Most of the children in the class had only celebrated Christmas, although some of their families also did Hanukkah and at least one had attended Las Posadas with her family south of the border.

In the past, Webb had invited some of her students’ parents to the classroom to talk about Hanukkah customs. This month, however, the class went further, as each student created a book of writings and artwork about six holidays around the world. Every day, the students wrote a summary of one holiday and did a project for another.

First on the list was Diwali, a five-day Indian festival that commemorates the victory of good over evil. Hindus celebrate by lighting candles, praying and shooting off firecrackers. Next, students learned about Eid ul-Fitr, held in Muslim communities throughout the world, and Kwanzaa, a week-long observance held after Christmas to celebrate African-American culture. Ending the series were Las Posadas, Hanukkah and Christmas itself.

What the holiday unit proved, in part, was that festivities throughout the world are remarkably similar -- even ones that celebrate different religions. Nearly every one involves gift giving and large family meals; all have a spiritual and a secular side. Even some of the details recur: both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa use special candelabrums as a holiday symbol.

Alina Mavusi, 7, said she celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah at home, but liked the first one better.

“I like Christmas more because with Hanukkah, you just light candles every night,” she said. “That’s fun to me, but Christmas is funner.”

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education writer Michael Miller visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa area and writes about his experience.

20051227is4qirncKENT TREPTOW / DAILY PILOT(LA)Kelly Siegel, 7, paints a menorah during a project about holiday celebrations at Andersen Elementary School.