http://www.fridayschildmontessori.com/blog/merry-christmas-and-some-stories/ Friday’s Child Montessori wishes all our readers, pupils and parents a happy Christmas. Several short stories about our Christmas traditions are presented, including Father Christmas as we know him today, the historical Saint Nicholas, Strega Nona and Babushka who is known in Italy and Russia and is probably Mother Christmas, the Magi and the story behind Hanukah. Some family reading is suggested – but avoid A Christmas Carol, as it could be too scary for pre-schoolers.
2. The team here at
Friday’s Child Montessori
want to wish you and your family a
wonderful Christmas and summer
holiday period.
3. It’ll be a while until we see our young
friends back here at our early
childhood centre, as we’re all going to
be having a bit of a break. Enjoy this
time with your family – we certainly
will be.
4. For our last article for 2012, we
thought we’d leave you with a few
stories related to a few of our
Christmas traditions and give some
tips for other places you can find
some good reading material to share
with your family, young and old,
during this season.
5. Father Christmas/Santa Claus
(current tradition): Up in the North
Pole where the Northern Lights
flicker, a mysterious and magical
figure lives, where he makes
wonderful toys with the help of his
elfin helpers.
6. In the lead up to Christmas, he
makes up a list of children, noting
whether they have been naughty or
nice.
7. The good children get presents in
stockings left hanging by the chimney
or at the end of the bed (it doesn’t
matter which).
8. The naughty ones get their stockings
full of coal. He harnesses up a sleigh
pulled by eight (or maybe nine) flying
reindeer, headed up by the red-nosed
Rudolph.
9. The other reindeer are named
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,
Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.
10. These reindeer fly through the air as
Santa travels the world at midnight,
entering homes through the chimney
and leaving presents.
11. Custom dictates that you leave him a
thank-you gift and possibly a letter.
What to leave him as a snack varies
from home to home: in the USA, milk
and cookies are usually left, but
mince pies and glasses of sherry are
the preferred offering in the UK.
12. You also leave a carrot for the
reindeer. In the morning, there will
be other traces of the white-
bearded gentleman’s visit: crumbs
from the cookies or the pie, the
empty glass and the end of the
carrot.
13. You may also find bits of soot and
ash on the hearth from his entry and
exit. Sometimes, Father Christmas
also leaves a letter.
14. And what does he do when there is
no chimney on the house?
15. This question was burning in the
minds of children on the other side
of the Tasman in Christchurch
where many homes had lost their big
old chimneys thanks to an earthquake.
16. The newspaper was quick to respond:
he comes in through the window or
the ranch slider, which you leave
open for him and he will close behind
him.
18. Reading material related to this
branch of the tradition are the
classic poem “Twas the night before
Christmas” (also known as “A visit
from Saint Nicholas”) and JRR
Tolkien’s “Father Christmas Letters”.
19. The latter is bases on a series of
letters that arrived for JRRT’s
children over the years and contains
many classic Tolkien elements:
20. elves that battle goblins, magical
bears, strange languages, poetry,
getting lost in caves and a white-
bearded wizard who’s skilled with
fireworks.
