SanTan
FAMILY FUN
December 2014
1
Celebrate diverse traditions this holiday season
“An award-winning publication” A publication of the
SanTan Sun News
By Alison Stanton
What’s inside Pages 2-4 SanTan Family Fun Calendar
Page 4 Science celebration and maker event seeking exhibitors
Page 9 Girls rock careers at Chandler code club
Page 12 Sponsored by City of Chandler Recreation Division
Special High School Football Section SPONSORED BY: SCORPION CROSSFIT
Pages 5-8 Gridiron Update
When Ania Kubicki was a young girl growing up in Krakow, Poland, she remembers learning about the holidays through what she calls a “very narrow Catholic filter.” “St. Nicholas came in early December, we all went to church during advent, and angels brought us little gifts under the tree when we woke up on Christmas morning—after going to the midnight Mass,” she says. “Everyone put their Christmas trees up at the same time and took them down after Three Kings. It is hard to believe that in the late ’70s and early ’80s that was my entire experience of the holidays and I honestly had no idea that there was any other way to celebrate.” When Kubicki, now a Chandler resident, became a mom, she and her husband, Jason, vowed that their son, Ben, now 10, would learn about all sorts of holiday traditions—not just their own. “While we maintain strong faith-based traditions in our family, I wanted to make sure that Ben gets exposed to the beautiful diversity of celebrations,” she says. “Especially since mainstream media would have you believe that Christmas is all about shopping, I wanted to make sure that Ben knows about the various ways that people celebrate Christmas or other winter holidays around the world.” Ruth Lucas, a Chandler-based professional consultant and life coach specializing in relationships and parenting, says that there are definite benefits of teaching kids about different holiday traditions and religions. The most obvious of which, she says, is that it provides children with the opportunity to sidestep what she calls “the limitation of ethnocentrism that can stifle one’s sophistication, intellectual growth and the synergy of diversity.” Teaching kids about other holiday cultures and religions can and should be fun, Lucas says. “For instance, once the kids are reading, start with learning about how different countries celebrate the same holidays you do,” she explains. “If you and yours celebrate Christmas, how is Christmas celebrated in Nigeria, Hungary or Belgium?” Perhaps the kids there sing different songs than ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town.’”
“In Great Britain, those who celebrate Christmas also observe Boxing Day, and the kids can learn what Boxing Day is and what it means.” Other ideas, Lucas says, involve picking out a different country or ethnicity every year when a child is young, and learning a new song and maybe a holiday-related recipe. “As they get older, you can introduce other religions as well as traditions or invite them to select some on their own and plan a night to share what you each discovered with one another,” she says. In addition to teaching Ben about her Polish traditions, Kubicki says they have also discussed and learned about holiday celebrations in Mexico, Italy, India and many African nations. “We’ve talked about the importance of fasting and why such modality is present in most religions, and the importance of celebrations from prayers to foods,” she says. Her family also really enjoyed attending the Advent and Christmas Around the World event at their church, St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Faith Community in Chandler. Suzie Malloy, coordinator of children’s ministry at St. Andrew, says she organizes the event every two or three years, and that all 600 or so kids in the religious education program along with their parents go from room to room at the church, learning about a different country in each one and its holiday customs and traditions. “Part of the reason we do the multicultural event is because a lot of our traditions—including putting up lights, Christmas trees and hanging up a wreath—all first took place years ago and HAVING FUN WITH FISH: Ben Kubicki, right with blue vest and tie, jokes around with family friend, Alden Witte, at a traditional Polish holiday dinner, eating some Swedish Fish with style. Since Ben was a young boy, his parents have taught him not only about his mom’s Polish holiday traditions, but many others as well. Submitted photo
they all come from other countries’ traditions, “ she says. “So it gives them a chance to learn these things.” Kubicki says she, Jason and Ben all loved learning about the unique rituals observed around the same holiday in different countries. Ben especially enjoyed participating with his mom at the table they had prepared for the event about Poland. “His favorite part was talking about the various foods that he now gets to eat on Christmas Eve at his Grandma’s house, from borsch to the tradition of sharing the thin wafer called the Oplatek and doing holiday wishes; he was so excited to give his two cents,” she says. She hopes that by learning about other holiday traditions other than his own, Ben will grow up into a young man who has a basic knowledge and respect of other cultures and their diverse celebrations, foods and rituals. “To me there is nothing more beautiful than human traditions and respects paid through traditions,” Kubicki says. “I wanted to expose him to the diversity to deepen his knowledge and increase his appreciation.” Alison Stanton is a freelance writer who lives in the East Valley. She can be reached at alison@santansun.com.
Resources • “Christmas Around the World,” by Mary D. Lankford • “Holidays Around The World: Celebrate Christmas: With Carols, Presents and Peace,” by Deborah Heiligman • “Light the Candle! Bang the Drum!: A Book of Holidays from Around the World,” by Ann Morris