Hug a Tree…or a Banana!

Children are naturals when it comes to celebrating. They innately laugh, play and have fun – I find it inspiring! So, with each passing holiday, I take part in the youthful joy and make my best attempt at teaching traditions of our culture…when I can, I explore what others do and make it a cross-cultural experience – with tomorrow being both Earth Day and Good Friday, we have ample opportunity to mix a bit of learning in with a lot of fun!

As my kids have grown older and begin to ask more intelligent questions – still the reverberating “why” but with increased expectations of my response – I find that my knowledge is greatly lacking…even in the celebrations I’ve grown up with, sad but true.

So, in an attempt to better understand the history of even the most common holidays and find adequate answers to my children’s questions, I turned to a modern-day, semi-reliable, speedy resource…the Internet.

In preparation for tomorrow’s dual holiday – Good Friday and Earth Day – I tackled a double portion of my holiday research. Here’s what I discovered:

Good Friday

I have always known that Good Friday was a prelude to Easter but had only bits and pieces of the story in my mind – I admit to being a bit confused with all the activities surrounding Easter Sunday. My research was quite helpful!

• Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, is a Christian celebration in observance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at Calvary. The holiday falls at the end of Holy Week, on the Friday preceding Easter, correlating with the Jewish Passover (the celebration of the freeing of Israelite slaves from Egypt).
• People celebrate Good Friday in a number of different ways – worship services, candelabras, gospel readings, fasting, communion, prayer – and some hold a celebration on Thursday (today), termed Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.
• All of the Christian festivities held during Holy Week are in anticipation of Easter Sunday, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, three days following the crucifixion.
• Eleven states in the U.S. consider Good Friday a state holiday, Colorado not included.

Earth Day

We’ve all heard of Earth Day and know it has something to do with the “reduce, reuse, recycle” concept, but where did this holiday come from?

• The first earth day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson to encourage awareness and appreciation of our natural environment.
• Earth Day is now recognized nationally and is sponsored by Earth Day Network.
• The name “Earth Day” was chosen partly because it rhymes with “birthday” and also due to the fact that it was fitting and made sense.
• Earth Day Network members promote environmental education, global policies, environmental campaigns and organize national and local events.
• Learn more at earthday.org  http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011

Don’t forget to celebrate (and squeeze in a lesson or two!)…

Whatever the holiday may be, have fun and celebrate. Here are a few ideas for tomorrow:

Good Friday/Easter

• Use an online resource to tell your children the Easter Story and coordinate crafts and illustrations.
• Hug a tree…or a banana! Your children will love this healthy snack craft!

Earth Day

• Learn several easy ways to become more earth friendly with Amber’s list.

Combine Good Friday AND Earth Day Celebrations!
 Try these recycled Easter Crafts:

• Bunny Egg Holder from Recycled Paper Tube.

• Bunny sock puppet out of a lonely sock.

Know Your Holidays

• Click Here for a full list of 2011 Holidays.
• Visit this site for holidays from around the world.
• View Federal Holidays.
• Learn about Bizarre Holidays for days when you just need a reason to celebrate.

Explore and help your children understand how others celebrate the things that are important to them, and next time your children ask you where holidays come from you’ll have the answer…the Internet!

What is your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate?

Author: Jaime