This time of year, there are many traditional celebrations waiting to be discovered. Throughout the month of December, Discovery Gateway offers Festival of Lights programming where children will learn how light is incorporated into the holiday traditions of Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Christmas, Santa Lucia, and Kwanzaa. With Hanukkah beginning tomorrow and school out for the holiday break, it’s a perfect time to experience our last two weeks of Festival of Lights programming.
At the beginning of the month we explored the Latin American tradition of Las Posadas, which originated in Mexico and the American Southwest. During this nine day celebration beginning December 16 and ending December 24 it is customary to act out the story of the birth of Christ by lining the streets with “farolitos,” or votive candles in paper bags filled with sand. Inspired by this ritual, students participating in the Studio 444 art classes made their own lighted path luminaries.
Next, we focused the Swedish traditions of Christmas and Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia celebrates light in the darkness of winter. Santa Lucia was actually born in Italy and her name means “light.” She was a martyr who dedicated her life to feeding the poor and she was put to death on December 13th, which became known as “feast day.” This day was marked by an in-home procession where daughters, led by the oldest, bring the parents coffee and “lussekatts” (St Lucia buns), wearing white robes and candle-wreaths while singing a St. Lucia song. Today the processions are public and a Lucia is appointed every year. She visits shopping malls, retirement communities, and churches handing out ginger snaps. The modern processions include girls and boys who play different roles associated with Christmas. They may also dress as “stjarngossar” (star boys), “tomtenissar” (Santa’s little helpers), or even gingerbread men.
Children visiting Discovery Gateway connected to the Swedish culture in many ways. They tasted ginger snaps in the workshop room, made their own “tomtenissar” at the art cart, and created wreaths in the Curiosity Shop.
Through the power of imagination, we then traveled to Hawaii to explore the ways in which Christmas is celebrated in the Polynesian culture. In Studio 444 art classes kids made shell gifts, tikki lights, and Hawaiian leis. As a special treat we brought in a guest from our community, Mailia Mislang-Darden, who presented a fantastic Hula Dancing Workshop. In the workshop room children had the opportunity to taste pineapple and coconut while learning about the Hawaiian tradition of the Christmas luau, which features the Kalua pig as its main course.
This week’s Festival of Lights programming is inspired by Hanukkah. This eight-day Jewish holiday commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem where over two-thousand years ago a small community defeated a Greek army in order to reclaim their temple. Hanukkah is observed by lighting the candles of a Menorah, which represents the light that was generated by the tiny amount of oil these people had, only enough to light a lamp for one night, but it lasted for 8 days and nights.
In Studio 444, children will be learning more about the Menorah as they create their own beeswax candles, and children can discover more about the Jewish culture by tasting potato Latkes, a traditional Hanukkah food, in the workshop room.
During the last week in December our Festival of Light programming will be centered on the African-American holiday, Kwanzaa. Created in 1966 by Dr. Korenga, Kwanzaa is based upon ancient African customs and serves to honor African heritage and culture. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration where each day is dedicated to one of seven principles or “Nguzo Saba”, including Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and on the last day, Faith.
Children can find out more about Kwanzaa and the activities that are featured in this week-long celebration in Studio 444. During these art classes they will be discovering Kwanzaa Candle Dripping and making African Masks
As a Children’s Museum, we build inclusive communities in everything we do. Our Festival of Lights programming takes children on a journey around the world to explore and appreciate their own culture and the diverse cultures and traditions of others. We look forward to celebrating with you. Happy Holidays!
