Our centre is home to many different cultures, all with different traditions, customs and celebrations. We're very fortunate in this way as it allows both our staff and children to learn about new cultural philosophies and in turn develop respect, empathy and a deeper understanding for those around us and their way of life. With the dawn of spring came many holidays and celebrations throughout of LCCC including Norouz, Easter, Ramazan/Ramadan, Eid-al-Fitr and Passover. We were delighted to see each of these festivities represented throughout our centre in the form learning centres and activities that our educators brought to life to help the children gain a better understanding of the cultural significance and meaning behind each one.
Norouz
With the dawn of spring, comes the celebration of a new year. Persian New Year, which is called Norouz (or Nowruz)! Based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, Nowruz begins every year on or around March 21st and lasts 13 days. During this time, individuals celebrate their New Year with traditional games, activities, food and art. One of the important parts of Nowruz tradition is growing wheat seeds, called Sabzeh. It takes two weeks for them to fully grow into flourishing grass, and the children completed every step of this process with excitement and interest.
The Sabzeh is just one of several items that gets added to the Persian New Year table, called Haft Sin. Along with the fully grown Sabzeh are mung bean, or lentil sprouts grown in a dish; Samanu, a sweet pudding dish; Senjed, fruit from a lotus tree; Serkeh, vinegar; Seeb, an apple; Seer, garlic; and Somaq, sumac, a mirror and a beautiful Hyacinth flower.
Easter
As many children excitedly chatted about the Easter Bunny's upcoming visit, we made sure to keep the magic alive through art and sensory experiences to engage their minds and enhance communication. Through mixed media, children created bunnies, paper eggs and abstract pieces, as well as dip dying real eggs to explore texture and weight in a very hands-on way.
Ramadan/Ramazan
A celebration that usually involves prayer, fasting and spending time with friends and family, Ramadan/Ramazan is a month long festivity. Our classrooms embraced the holiest month of the Muslim culture and learned about the significance of this time period through storytelling, art and group activities. The end of Ramadan/Ramazan occurs when the crescent moon appears in the sky and is visible by all, and this festivity is called Eid al-Fitr, which translates to "festival of the breaking of the fast". To represent this, children created lanterns and crescent moons to signify the new shining light that Muslim people celebrate.
Passover
The classrooms also participated in the celebration of Passover, a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the freedom of the Jewish people many years ago. We saw our classrooms break down the meaning of this holiday through art & literature, creating masks to symbolize resistance against the plagues and reading the book "The Night Before"
In a childcare centre as diverse as ours, it's our responsibility as educators to ensure every child, family and staff feels represented and seen. And it's our privilege to continue our education towards understanding unique customs, traditions and experiences in cultures different from our own.