Creating Holiday Traditions For Kids

The holidays, beginning with Thanksgiving and continuing through the New Year, are a time for family, fun and festivities as well as traditions, celebrations and religious ceremonies.

As you and your family celebrate Thanksgiving, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas and the New Year, the festivities will include family gatherings, holiday meals, gift giving, lighting the candles, singing carols, ornaments, lights, parties and celebrations, family traditions and a lot of hustle and bustle.

'Tis the season for activities. But it is also a time when kids can be overwhelmed by all the activity. So take a step back and remind yourself why you celebrate the holidays and what is important to your and your family. For all the reasons we celebrate, an important one is to give our children enjoyable and meaningful traditions.

Creating traditions that focus on our beliefs and sharing our celebrations with our family and friends inevitably provide us with richer experiences that will become the gifts that our children will treasure and remember long after the presents are forgotten.

Those traditions can be steeped in historical significance such as lighting the menorah or placing the baby Jesus in the creche, or as simple as making gingerbread and stringing popcorn.

Celebrating the holidays with family and friends is supposed to be fun, and the best way to do that is:

1. Keep it simple.
2. Plan ahead.
3. Have the kids participate in the planning as well as the activities.

Kids at any age can help make homemade gifts, bake cookies or traditional pastries, finalize holiday travel plans, decorate, shop for gifts, provide community service, entertain and be entertained.

Don't know where to start? With your children, make a list of all of your upcoming holiday activities and include those things that you would like to do as well. Take the kids on a virtual tour via the Internet to find out more about holiday traditions and activities, and search Web sites for holiday recipes, crafts and gift-giving ideas.

Traveling for the holidays? Look for ways to involve the children in the planning and make it a holiday adventure rather than a six-hour drive to Grandma's house.

Internet Safely

If you are new to the Internet or haven't spent a lot of time there with your kids, you might want to start by checking out a few sites that cover the basics on how to keep your kids safe on the Internet. Stephen Savitzky has a comprehensive site that includes a lot of advice, suggestions and common sense rules to get you started.

In addition to good educational resources for parents, teachers and students, Family Education also has articles on Internet safety for kids.

Learn More About The Holidays

Visit a few Web sites or your local library for stories and information about the history of the first Thanksgiving, the story of Ramadan, Kwanzaa or Hanukkah traditions, Christmas stories and holidays in countries around the world.

Thanksgiving

Read a historical overview of the holiday.

Although the first Thanksgiving supposedly was celebrated in 1621 by the Pilgrims who sailed to America aboard the Mayflower, George Washington proclaimed it a holiday in 1789, but it wasn't official until President Lincoln made it a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863. All of this and more great Thanksgiving information is brought to you by the Butterball -- that's right, as in the turkey. And you will also find the story of the wishbone, which dates back to the Etruscans in 322 B.C.

Ramadan

Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan during the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. Lasting for the entire month, Muslims fast during the daylight hours and in the evening eat small meals and visit with friends and family. It is a time of worship and contemplation, a time to strengthen family and community ties. The first day of fasting for Ramadan in the year 2001 is Nov. 16.

Chanukah Traditions

Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.

A central site for parents who want tips on teaching their kids about Chanukah and celebrating traditional holidays is Jewishfamily.com.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by many African-Americans. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday but a cultural festival celebrating traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement. Dr. Maulana KarengaIt, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, founded Kwanzaa in 1966. The seven-day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in modern-day America. Kwanzaa is based on African festivals. The word means "the first fruits." Kwanzaa begins Dec. 26.

Christmas

Christmas is the Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ. The reason for the season is a religious celebration that brings families together. The gatherings include holiday meals, Santa Claus, presents, carol singing, sleigh rides and gingerbread cookies. It is a time for traditions, both religious and celebratory.

Learn more about Christmas traditions, including the story of the Christmas star, the evolution of the Christmas tree and holiday traditions around the world.

Read the Gospel of Luke online to your children. It tells of the birth of the Christ child: "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

There is more to see and do this holiday season online with your kids. Check out some other activities, recipes and gift-making suggestions. Plus, are you planning to hit the road this holiday? Pick up a few pointers to make the trip more festive.