Literacy - Yours For the Holidays 2023

December 7 to 15 - Chanukah

Jeremy M - Storytelling

Chanukah is a holiday whose meaning is subject to numerous interpretations. It is the story of a military victory by a small band of warriors, the Maccabees, against a large army, the Asyrian-Greeks, who had seized the Jewish temple and denied Jews a place to worship. It is also the story of how a little bit of olive oil, recovered in the retaken temple, burned for eight days to ensure that the eternal light (representing the presence of God) stayed lit in the spot where the Maccabees prayed. It burned while people searched for new oil stocks and kept that eternal light lit. To this day, Chanukah is known as a celebration of the miracle of that light.

I find the Chanukah story interesting for many reasons, but the part that was emphasized to me in my home growing up was the light and the wonder of its persistence. In our part of the northern hemisphere, Chanukah falls at the darkest time of year. Focusing on the candles and the light they give off amid darkness has always been meaningful to me. It is also meaningful to my mother, who read stories to my sister and me about Chanukah candles bringing hope and illumination to people in perilous times.

I feel that many of us all over the world are living through dark times. I find that focusing on the light of a tiny candle in the middle of a period of deepening shadows brings me hope and reminds me of a common human bond: the bond of light as hope, warmth, and transcendence. While I do not believe that lighting a single light will change the world, I know that recalling the persistence of light can sustain people when hope seems lost. I also know that when we recall the power of hope, change becomes possible.

In this dark season of late 2023, I am focusing on this legacy of light because I think of it as my ‘Chanukah Heritage.’

Jan G - Advent Calendar/Numeracy

One of the things I look forward to the most about the holidays in our house is the unboxing of our Advent Calendar. In my family, I was given one of those inexpensive chocolate advent calendars from the grocery store every year. You might know the ones I'm talking about from having seen them while you've been shopping or even having received them yourself. I loved searching for the number (they were never in order) and finding that chocolate treat inside. I was always trying to guess what shape the chocolate would be moulded in - a tree, a star, Santa... I couldn't wait to find out! When my son was born, my sister remembered how much I loved those calendars and she gave him a beautiful wooden Advent Calendar for his first Christmas. It has filled my heart with joy to watch him open these little doors every year and find something new and surprising inside. I have delighted in being able to be creative filling these spaces with small gifts, tiny chocolates, little love notes and words of wisdom, and this year some very unique dice for my son to use when playing board games. When he was very young, I also loved to hear him count out his numbers and try to figure out what door to open by looking at a calendar. My son is 16 now and he still looks forward to his calendar every year - it brings us both immense joy.

Sherry L - Reading/Storytelling

We have created a few family traditions of our own around Christmas Eve, when we open one gift (pajamas!) and spend time around our decorated tree, listening to a chapter of Stuart McLean’s Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe being read out loud, while nibbling on a cookie and sipping hot chocolate or tea. Before Stuart McLean’s, we went through many classic storybooks with fantastic illustrations and tales about reindeer, great trains, and nutcrackers. What will we do when we finish this book? Find another!

Here's a story from Stuart McLean as published by Canadian Living:

https://www.canadianliving.com/life-and-relationships/canadian-living-books/article/cozy-up-to-this-short-story-from-the-classic-christmas-at-the-vinyl-cafe

Carolina C - Numeracy/Reading

In Argentina, where I grew up, Christmas and New Year’s eve are two of the most festive seasons of the year. They are times when we Argies gather with our loved ones and have big parties that last until dawn. On Christmas eve, we place baby Jesus under the tree in his manger, and watch the fireworks light up the sky at midnight. We don’t sing many carols, but we love to dance and feast on delicious food:

• Grilled pork or roasted turkey. They are eaten hot or cold. The pork is served with chimichurri, a sauce made of oil, oregano, and ground chili.
• Asado, or roast, which is a typical Argentine dish of beef, chorizo, black pudding, and offal cooked on a grill. It is accompanied by salads, chimichurri, and red wine.
• Stuffed pionono, which is a semi-sweet dough filled with ham, cheese, tuna, boiled egg, bell peppers, olives, and mayonnaise. It is rolled up and cut into slice.
• Vitel toné, which is a dish of French origin. It consists of thin slices of boiled tongue cow meat covered with a natural mayonnaise made with eggs, oil, and anchovies. It is decorated with capers.
• Waldorf salad, which is a salad made with celery, green apples, and walnuts. The dressing is a mixture of mayonnaise and heavy cream.
• Russian salad, which is a salad made with diced boiled potatoes and carrots, peas, and mayonnaise.
• Stuffed tomatoes, which are tomatoes filled with rice or tuna salad.
• Pan dulce, which is a sweet bread with dried fruits and nuts. It is one of the most popular desserts during Christmas in Argentina.

New Year’s Eve is another night of celebration with family and friends, and we all count down to midnight to start dancing and cheering. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, everyone joins in the fun and makes it a community event. Even though the weather is hot and humid, and it often rains during this season, we still have outdoor parties, with tents ready in case of rain.

Try your hand at this delicious recipe for Authentic Chimichurri:

https://cafedelites.com/authentic-chimichurri-uruguay-argentina/

Kate G - Math/Structural

We have a tradition of making a gingerbread house near Christmas time. When my kids were younger, we would roll out the dough and then carefully cut out the templates for the different parts of the house. Our decorations would include stained glass windows made with melted hard candies, wrought iron work done in royal icing and an elaborate railing for the front porch. Now that my kids are all young adults, we still make just one gingerbread house, but it is a bit more modest! 

Check out these 46 Gingerbread House Templates from Pinterest that you can use:

https://www.pinterest.ca/donnarcale/gingerbread-house-template-printable/

Happy baking!