Teaching Journal for December 18, 2009

John Mark on December 18th, 2009 | Filed under My Teaching Journal

The end of the year is a special time. In the United States, most Americans celebrate Christmas, both as a secular and religious holiday on December 25. In Russia, as I am learning, the big holiday is the New Year, and it is basically celebrated like a secular American Christmas. This means that, so far, I am feeling right at home at the end of December in St. Petersburg. When I am walking home, the city streets are lined with festive lights and the ground is covered with snow. This is truly a beautiful city at this time of year.
I will be staying in St. Petersburg during the holiday and look forward to celebrating and relaxing with my wife and son. The short days and the ever-increasing cold are certainly an adjustment, but I am finding it quite an opportunity for exploration and discovery. Where I lived as a boy, we had snow only once every 10 years. I can remember a Christmas when I could wear shorts outside. Here, the rivers are already freezing and it is dark until 10 a.m. Quite a change!
This is also a time for English teachers to take the opportunity to teach American values in the classroom. Looking at the way many American families spend their time in December is a wonderful time for our students to explore the rich variety of backgrounds and cultural heritage that exist in the United States. Of course, not all Americans celebrate Christmas. Indeed, there are very large populations of American Muslims, Jews and non-believers. In addition, not all of those who celebrate Christmas do it in the same way. it can be said that each family has its own approach to the holidays.
My advice for teaching about Christmas in America is to remind your students that it is indeed a special time, but that everyone has their own way of celebrating (and some don’t celebrate it at all!). And even though we can look at the traditional Christmas celebrations, it is very important to show out students that the most important and valuable aspect of American culture is that it is both rich and diverse.
When I was a child, this is how we celebrated Christmas in my home. The holiday season starts on the Friday after Thanksgiving. This is when most Americans start doing their shopping, decorating their homes, listening to holiday music and watching their favorite holiday movies.
In addition to buying and decorating a tree, we often string lights on the outsides of our homes and decorate our lawns with mini statues of Santa Claus or little snowmen. The traditional Christmas colors are red and green and they can be seen on people’s houses, city streets and even in the clothes people wear at this time of year.
Gift-giving is of course a big part of the season. While it is important to present gifts to your loved ones, it is not so important to do so with all of your friends and co-workers. In addition, there is not as important a need for the gift to be of a personal nature or specifically designed for the receiver as it is here in Russia. Sometimes, something as simple as a card or a gift card to a book store is enough.
In most families, gifts are not opened until Christmas morning, and children tend to sleep very little the night before. Traditionally, parents tell their children that most of their gifts will be delivered by Santa Claus at midnight, and that he will not come unless all children are in bed. It i said that Santa Claus flies around the world on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer and that he lands on each family’s roof and enters through the chimney. Children often leave him milk and cookies so that he can keep his strength up for his long journey around the world. Parents keep their energy up by drinking egg nog and stay up late to leave out and assemble the toys brought by Santa Claus
Holiday music is a big part of the season, and many of the same songs are listened to each year. Such tunes as White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The First Noel, Silent Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas are recorded anew every year by different artists. Starting at noon on Christmas Eve, most American radio stations begin playing these tunes nonstop for 24 hours, until noon the following day.
As for films, probably the most famous one is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart. Most Americans watch this film on Christmas Eve with their families. Other holiday classics include White Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Christmas Story.

The end of the year is a special time. In the United States, most Americans celebrate Christmas, both as a secular and religious holiday on December 25. In Russia, as I am learning, the big holiday is the New Year, and it is basically celebrated like a secular American Christmas. This means that, so far, I am feeling right at home at the end of December in St. Petersburg. When I am walking home, the city streets are lined with festive lights and the ground is covered with snow. This is truly a beautiful city at this time of year.

I will be staying in St. Petersburg during the holiday and look forward to celebrating and relaxing with my wife and son. The short days and the ever-increasing cold are certainly an adjustment, but I am finding it quite an opportunity for exploration and discovery. Where I lived as a boy, we had snow only once every 10 years. I can remember a Christmas when I could wear shorts outside. Here, the rivers are already freezing and it is dark until 10 a.m. Quite a change!

This is also a time for English teachers to take the opportunity to teach American values in the classroom. Looking at the way many American families spend their time in December is a wonderful time for our students to explore the rich variety of backgrounds and cultural heritage that exist in the United States. Of course, not all Americans celebrate Christmas. Indeed, there are very large populations of American Muslims, Jews and non-believers. In addition, not all of those who celebrate Christmas do it in the same way. it can be said that each family has its own approach to the holidays.

My advice for teaching about Christmas in America is to remind your students that it is indeed a special time, but that everyone has their own way of celebrating (and some don’t celebrate it at all!). And even though we can look at the traditional Christmas celebrations, it is very important to show out students that the most important and valuable aspect of American culture is that it is both rich and diverse.

When I was a child, this is how we celebrated Christmas in my home. The holiday season starts on the Friday after Thanksgiving. This is when most Americans start doing their shopping, decorating their homes, listening to holiday music and watching their favorite holiday movies.

In addition to buying and decorating a tree, we often string lights on the outsides of our homes and decorate our lawns with mini statues of Santa Claus or little snowmen. The traditional Christmas colors are red and green and they can be seen on people’s houses, city streets and even in the clothes people wear at this time of year.

Gift-giving is of course a big part of the season. While it is important to present gifts to your loved ones, it is not so important to do so with all of your friends and co-workers. In addition, there is not as important a need for the gift to be of a personal nature or specifically designed for the receiver as it is here in Russia. Sometimes, something as simple as a card or a gift card to a book store is enough.

In most families, gifts are not opened until Christmas morning, and children tend to sleep very little the night before. Traditionally, parents tell their children that most of their gifts will be delivered by Santa Claus at midnight, and that he will not come unless all children are in bed. It i said that Santa Claus flies around the world on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer and that he lands on each family’s roof and enters through the chimney. Children often leave him milk and cookies so that he can keep his strength up for his long journey around the world. Parents keep their energy up by drinking egg nog and stay up late to leave out and assemble the toys brought by Santa Claus

Holiday music is a big part of the season, and many of the same songs are listened to each year. Such tunes as White Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The First Noel, Silent Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas are recorded anew every year by different artists. Starting at noon on Christmas Eve, most American radio stations begin playing these tunes nonstop for 24 hours, until noon the following day.

As for films, probably the most famous one is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart. Most Americans watch this film on Christmas Eve with their families. Other holiday classics include White Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Christmas Story.

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