Christmas Wrap-Up

Now that the New Year is here, I decided I should take some time to wrap up our Christmas Around the World posts. While in America most of us have begun putting away our holiday regalia, in Siberia and elsewhere the holiday season has just begun. So here's the rest of what we learned this Christmas....We can still have a fruitful year even if our wheat didn't grow 6 to 8 inches. We were amazed how quickly it grew at all.My version of the Croatian Licitar Heart is neither dough nor edible, but it does have a "mirror" of aluminum foil to reflect the soul.Babuska may be a legend in parts of Russia (La Befana in Italy), but a good friend in Siberia has never heard stories of her. She does make a cute ornament, though.

And for the food...Bolivian Bunuelos- These are a more Puerto Rican style, but I look forward to trying authentic Bolivian Bunuelos someday.Puerto Rican Pasteles- Not sure the masa I made out of pumpkin, green bananas, plantains, potatoes and yucca was quite right, but the filling was delicious. Again, I'd love to try authentic pasteles in the future.Tanzanian Green Beans & Potatoes- A yummy version of potato salad that I will have to make again, though next time I may go for smaller veggies.
Philippino Pancit Bihon- An excellent recipe and a crowd pleaser. This may become a regular at our house.Croatian Braid Bread- So good! This tangy, sweet bread is a treat I hope to make more in the future. It is wonderful breakfast bread.
Russian Tea & Cakes- Excellent and a favorite even before this Christmas, albeit not Siberian necessarily. Alex sent us some favored Siberian salads that we will have to try soon.American Green Bean Casserole- It wouldn't be the holidays without it, right?

Hope all had (or are having) a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas in Siberia

As we move away from Croatia our schedule is getting busier with Christmas preparations of our own, but we wanted to take the time to look at a few more countries, so today we will focus on a region in Russia, Siberia. As most people imagine, this part of the world can get incredibly cold during this time of year, but I have enjoyed reading about the way they bundle up and face the cold as they go on with daily life.

Christmas occurs in Siberia on January 6th as the Russian Orthodox refused to follow the Gregorian calendar and instead use the Julian to determine the date of the holiday. Because of this Christmas comes after the celebration of the New Year which is often the bigger celebration of the two. Christmas was also outlawed during a time in Soviet reign and this has had an effect on the traditions that have lasted to today.

One story we enjoyed hearing from Siberia was the folktale of Babushka, grandmother, and the role she plays in the gift-giving. It is the story that the three wise men asked Babushka to join them on their way to Baby Jesus. She refused and regretted it later. So, today she offers gifts to all the good children in place of the gifts she missed giving to the Christ-child.

Also in Siberia we found the Santa Claus is represented instead by Dedushka Moroz, Grandfather Frost, and his grandaughter, Snegurochka. These two show up on New Year's Eve to offer gifts of candy to the children.

Links:
Russian Crafts
Russian Christmas

Praying for the work of Alex and Yulia in Siberia. Learn more from them at Transform Siberia.

Christmas in Croatia- Cont.

Though I haven't had time yet to make and photograph the ornament for our Christmas Around the World Tree, I am planning to base it off this Croatian traditional ornament, the Licitar Heart. These hearts are given during many special celebrations in Croatia as a symbol of love. They are often edible, though I don't think mine will be.



For our meal I am hopeful our wheat that we planted on the 13th will have grown some, and we will place it in the middle of Bozic Pletenica, a braided bread wreath. A great-looking recipe can be found here.

I also hope to make Croatian Knedle (Potato Plum Dumplings) using the recipe found here. I may be a bit overambitious on all this food, but do hope to have as much of it done ahead of time as possible. We'll see.

Christmas in Croatia

Next we wanted to take a look at Christmas in Croatia. This country has many long-standing Christmas traditions that date back to the 9th Century when Christianity was first introduced here. As in most other countries, homes are decorated with all kinds of festive items including a nativity. A variety of greenery is used, holly, ivy, evergreen boughs, etc., and in more recent years Christmas trees have also become a part of the holiday home.

On December 13th, St. Lucy's Day, many homes place wheat seeds in a saucer of water to begin to germinate. The growth of the wheat is considered a measure of next year's fortune. A tall, stalk of green wheat by Christmas Eve suggests a fruitful year ahead. Straw is also placed around the home and under the tablecloth as a sign of fertility and Christ's birth in a manger.

We'll be continuing to learn more about Croatian Christmas and be back soon to share what we learn.



Links:
Christmas Around the World
Holiday Traditions
Christmas in Croatia
100 Years in America

Christmas in the Philippines- Cont.

The kids and I had fun focusing on the Philippines and creating our own simple version of a parol. For these stars, we used colored vellum that allows light to shine through them. With them hanging in the window they make bright, cheery sun-catchers. I also made a miniature parol for hanging on our Christmas Around the World Tree.

Here is a recipe for Pancit Bihon shared by our friend, Naomi, in Mandaluyong City, Philippines. We look forward to making this for our Christmas Around the World Dinner planned for a couple weeks from now.

Pancit Bihon
1 8 oz. package pancit bihon noodles (or angel hair pasta)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded (can also use pork)
1 pound shrimp (optional)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/4 cabbage, sliced into strips
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, sliced into thin strips two inches long
3 stalks celery, sliced into thin strips two inches long
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Teaspoon oyster sauce (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
5 wedges of lemon
Soak the pancit bihon noodles in warm tap water to soften for 10 minutes.
Grease a large pan or wok with oil. Saute garlic and onions.
Add the chicken broth, the shredded chicken breast and all the vegetables until cooked.
Mix in the pancit bihon noodles and add the soy sauce, cook for about 5 minutes or until
the noodles are soft. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with lemon wedges on the side.
Serves 6 as main dish.
Serves 10 as side dish.

Christmas in the Philippines

Moving on from Africa we focused our studies on the chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines. Christmas is a big deal here! As we saw in South America a large percentage of this nation has Catholic influences. (They also have a Misa de Gallo, known as Simbag Gabi in Tagalog). Celebration of the holiday season begins back in September. Yes, in September, when people begin decorating and start a daily countdown from 100 days. This is even broadcast on the nightly news.

Many homes decorate on the inside as much as they can afford to with Christmas trees and a Nativity. The most important decoration in a Filipino Christmas is the parol. This star lantern can be hand-crafted by the family, but is also available commercially.

Gift-giving is an central part of Christmas in the Philippines with gifts often exchanged amongst family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. The biggest celebration takes place at midnight on December 24th. During this time, Buena Noche, gifts are shared and a large meal enjoyed.

Caroling takes place throughout the region by those seeking to gain money or food. Performances can also be planned as a way to raise support for charitable work. We enjoyed listening to this Christmas song done by a school in the Philippines.

We'll be back soon to share a little more of what we learned about this region of the world.

Links:
Christmas in the Philippines
Parols

Special thanks to Naomi for sharing all she is learning in the Philippines. Praying for you and your family.

Christmas in Tanzania- Cont.

Here are the results of our study of Tanzania. For our craft we focused on creating Cut Paper Collages of Christmas scenes. This is a few of the kids works, though they had so much fun with it, they have made many of them to decorate the house.


I also finished the ornament to represent Tanzania on the World Christmas tree- an African-style angel.

Christmas in Tanzania

Continuing with our studies of Christmas Around the World we zoom over to Tanzania today to look at an African country. This country has a population that is largely Muslim, so Christmas is not as prominent as it is in other parts of the world. On a whole the nation is poorer than most as well, so we learned children often receive a set of cloths as their main gift (possibly the only clothes they will receive all year). Knowing that Christmas is simpler here makes me look at our American Christmas through different eyes. What a wealth of things we have for ourselves even when we think the budget is a bit tight. It is good to be reminded of the need around the world for simple things that we take for granted.

Our craft for today is roughly based off the book The Night Before Christmas by Rachel Isadora. This book is a retelling of the well-known poem by Clement Moore with beautiful artwork depicting an African setting. It is done in a cut-paper collage format that we will be duplicating with our own Christmas images. This is a great way for us to incorporate our paper-fold-and-cut snowflakes for this holiday season. Be back tomorrow to share our results.




For links used in reference today go to:
Christmas in Africa
Christmas in Tanzania

Praying for Mavuno Village and their work in Tanzania.

Christmas in Puerto Rico

Now we travel to Puerto Rico in our Christmas Around the World studies. A Puerto Rican Christmas has similar traditions to Bolivia with many of the influences coming from Spanish descent and Catholic history.

Holiday celebrations begin after Thanksgiving and last until January 6, El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day). Most of the festivities center around music, such as parrandas (caroling), where groups of friends travel the neighborhoods waking up "unsuspecting" neighbors with singing. The group is welcomed with parties and further singing through the night. Here is a well-known song I thought fitting to share.

Many Puerto Ricans do their big feast on Christmas Eve and also attend La Misa de Gallo. After a week of celebrating and bringing in the new year, the children prepare for Three Kings Day by placing a box with grass under their beds for the kings' camels and in return receive gifts. For our Christmas Around the World tree we created a star (again from the ornament dough) to represent los Tres Reyes Magos who followed the star to Bethlehem in search of Christ.

Links I referenced:
A Puerto Rican Christmas
Welcome to Puerto Rico
Christmas Traditions of Puerto Rico

Christmas in Bolivia

For our first country we focused on Bolivia as a representation of South American culture. We listened to a few villancicos de Navidad (Christmas carols) and found this one to share.

We read that many Bolivian homes have a pesebre (nativity) as their centerpiece. To make our own pesebre we are using the following recipe and molding the pieces:

Clay Christmas Ornaments
Mix together in a large bowl.
4 c flour
1 c salt
1 tsp alum
1 1/2 c water
If the dough is too dry, work in another Tablespoon of water. Roll dough to 1/8" and cut with cookie cutters, or mold dough into figures no more than 1/2" thick.
Bake ornaments at 250 degrees Fahrenheit on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 30 min. Turn over and bake another 1 1/2 hr until dry and hard. Remove and cool.
Sand with fine sandpaper and paint. Seal with clear acrylic or shellac.

We also found that many Bolivians attend La Misa Del Gallo (Mass of the Rooster). This name is based on the legend that the rooster may have been the first animal to announce the birth of Jesus. To remember all the countries we are studying this year we have started a felt tree. Each country will be represented by an ornament we place on the tree. For Bolivia we have chosen to make and add a rooster. For now I will share this wonderful rooster I found online. Soon I hope to have pictures of our own work to share.

For more links and sites I have referenced go to:
Bolivia Bella
Christmas Traditions in Spain and Latin America

The Ornament Recipe is loosely based on a recipe found in Feed Me I'm Yours by Vicki Lansky.

Christmas Around the World

Christmas is such a busy time in our home, that I decided to take a relaxed approach to our home school day. Our plan for the next month is to continue with math and reading, while for other subject areas, we will be completing a unit study on Christmas around the world. As there would be no way to cover the cultural traditions of most of the countries, we have chosen to focus our studies on countries that have a more personal meaning to our family. In the upcoming days I will be organizing my thoughts and ideas here, so feel free to glean any helpful ideas that would benefit your own home. (And if you have any ideas to share with us, please feel free to leave a comment. We love to learn.)

December 11- Jingle Bells

After a few days break from Christmas music, we were back at it today with the popular Christmas song Jingle Bells. As some may know this song was originally written for Thanksgiving in 1857 by James Pierpoint. Somewhere along the way it transitioned to a Christmas tune that is still a favorite among children. While my kids didn't do a craft today, we did make sure to jingle bells as we sang this song.

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O'er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob tails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh yeah

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

December 4- Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels We Have Heard on High is a traditional French carol that was translated into English by James Chadwick in 1862. More history can be found at Wikipedia. What I love about the language of this carol is that it introduces a simple, yet prevalent, Latin phrase to my children. It is a more familiar carol that I have enjoyed singing since I was a child myself.

Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song? Refrain

Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the new-born King. Refrain

See him in a manger laid
Whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love. Refrain
Our ornaments are Handprint/Footprint Angels loosely based off these directions at DLTK's.

December 3 - The Holly & the Ivy

This carol is one that has a familiar tune while the words are a little less known. It is a great lead into Christmas decorating, though, as my kids are now noticing holly and ivy everywhere on Christmas items. The history of the song is similar to other carols since it has been around a while and the words have changed over time (more history here). It is a beautiful song, and a great study for our look at Christmas music.

The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

A video we all enjoyed on YouTube -The Winchester Cathedral Choir recorded in 1986


My childrens' ornaments (seen at the top) were constructed with craft foam, glitter craft foam and a pretty paper background.

December 2 - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

As we continue in our Christmas music study, we focused on a traditional carol reported to be from the early 12th century. Originally this song, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, was written in Latin, and, while I hope to teach my children the Latin in the future, we focused on the English translation done by John Mason Neal in 1851.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Our ornament for today is simply an old key to represent the "Key of David", as taken from the song. This was a fun way to use some old keys, and the kids are excited about having these ornaments when they are older. Here are the four kiddos keys.

Reference site: http://www.carols.org.uk/o_come_come_emmanuel.htm

Christmas Music Unit Study

In search of a Christmas unit, I figured I would be able to find one online that fit our family and would take some of the guesswork out of the preparations for me. (There is already so much to do at holiday time.) Though, I don't plan on breaking from regular school for Christmas studies, I was wanting something special to do for the days leading up to this special time of year.
Thankfully, I think I have found a perfect fit. At Homeschooling Apropos VegieMama has put together a great unit for studying Christmas music. I especially like the simple craft suggestion of creating ornaments that go along with each day of study.
As we begin this journey here today, December 1, 2009, I hope others also will be encouraged to take time to reflect on the Lord and the coming of His Son to earth.