Today, as we continue to explore holidays around the Winter Solstice, we’ll visit England and learn about one of their Christmas traditions that is still with us.
Did you know that England is where the first Christmas card was created over 180 years ago?
We’ll discover how this idea started and became a tradition loved all over the world. We’ll also explore other English Christmas traditions and create our own holiday cards inspired by this history. Get ready to learn, create, and celebrate!
1) Read, Discuss, and…
2) Create – Use the guidelines below to find inspiration and create your own cards.
- Think about what the holidays mean to you or what brings people joy during the winter season.
- Choose a Theme:
- Families, friends, or community celebrations.
- Winter scenes: Snowflakes, trees, animals, or cozy fires.
- Words of kindness: Messages that spread joy, hope, and peace.
- Design you card(s)
- Use crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
- Add a drawing of something meaningful to you.
- Add a Message. Here are some ideas:
- “I hope your winter is filled with warmth and joy!”
- “Wishing you peace and happiness!”
- “Happy New Year! ”
Here are some more ideas for creating cards:
3) Calculating the Feast
A Christmas Carol is a famous story by Charles Dickens. In the story, Tiny Tim and his family, the Cratchits, have a happy but small meal for Christmas.. They made the best of what they have, and plum pudding was part of their feast.
In Victorian times, plum pudding was a big hit at Christmas. The dish had nuts, dried fruit, and sweet sugar in it. In this lesson, we will use math to plan and make our own small pudding, just like the Cratchits might have done. Today, you will practice adjusting the recipe so it could feed more or fewer people.
Then you will make your own pudding.
4) Enjoy the movie A Christmas Story
- Original Version in Black & White (1 hour 26 minutes)
- 1971 Animated Version (25 minutes)
- The Muppets version (1 hour 25 minutes)