celebrating Purim, St. Patrick's Day, & Holi

This week, we get the honor to celebrate and teach about three distinct holidays... One Jewish, one Christian, and one Hindu. Teaching our children, and learning ourselves, about holidays and traditions of other faiths and cultures allows us to cultivate understanding and compassion for others who hold traditions different from our own. We have curated some lessons, crafts, books and recipes here to help you get started!

Purim is a spring celebration in the Jewish tradition that honors the salvation of the Jewish people from a Persian king, Haman, through the selflessness of Esther. It is celebrated by making hamantaschen (left), It is often celebrated with costume parties, carnivals, and lots of sweets! Check out this video by mom, actress, and scientist Mayim Bialik (for grownups) and this option for kids! You can make your own cookies, here!

Find a great list of books to share with your kids here.

St; Patrick's Day is celebrated all over the world as a day of green food and drink and embracing all that is Irish, especially our heritage for those of us who can claim it! Did you know that this holiday celebrates the Patron Saint of Ireland? He was a priest who converted many to the Catholic faith during his time. You can learn about the holiday from PBS here or from National Geographic Kids, here . We love listening to traditional Irish music, eating colcannon and corned beef, and making our own green food! There are also some really cute books like this one that Ms Heather will be reading in classes this week!

Often referred to as the "Festival of Colors," Holi is celebrated around the world as the Hindu celebration of the start of spring. Like Diwali, Holi is one of the better known holidays of the Hindu faith. You can download an amazing toolkit from hinduamerican.org here . A great explanation about this colorful holiday, by kids, for kids is here . You can celebrate holi at home by creating chalk drawings full of color on your sidewalk, eating traditional sweets from your local Indian grocery, and reading some books here .

Whatever you choose to celebrate this week, do it with love and maybe some new knowledge about your neighbors!

With love,

Heather