This book includes holidays that are celebrated around the world, such as New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, and Las Posadas.

Winter Celebrations

People eat many different foods on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Some people believe certain foods will bring them good luck in the new year. Foods that people think will make them rich and lucky include: cabbage, black-eyed peas, pork sausages and sauerkraut.

HOW PEOPLE CELEBRATE THE CHINESE NEW YEAR

For Chinese New Year, people celebrate by hanging lanterns and attending the Lantern Festival. People also play games, like Chinese chess and mahjong.

Flash red

Chinese New Year

By: Kyra, Charlee, Monse, and Dallin

Who Celebrates

Many Asian countries celebrate this holiday, such as Singapore. This holiday is also called Lunar New Year.

When it is Celebrated

This year, Chinese New Year starts on February 1st and lasts 15 days. On the last day, they celebrate by having a lantern festival. The new year starts on a different date each year because it depends on the moon´s cycle. The New Year starts on a new moon. 

Symbols

Red means good luck during the Chinese New Year. The symbols of Chinese New Year are animals, such as the year of the ox, the year of the tiger, the year of the dragon, and more. The year of 2022 is the year of the tiger, which represents love.

How People Celebrate

Most people celebrate with festivals. They celebrate by lighting a candle each night that equals something important. The red candle means the past. The green candle means the future. The black candle represents the color of the people.

Here is a picture of a group playing mancala.

Here you see a family celebrating Kwanzaa and having a good time.

Lantern Festival

On the last day of Chinese new year, people light lanterns for the festival. They also perform a dragon dance to scare away bad spirits. 

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Many Jewish people eat lots of traditional foods. Some foods are called latkes, challah, and sufganiyots. Latkes are like pancakes, but they are made out of potatoes. Challah bread looks like a pretzel, but much longer. Sufganiyots are like jelly-filled donuts. If you've ever tried a jelly-filled donut from Krispy Kreme, you have eaten something similar to a sufganiyot!

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This holiday starts December 26th and ends on January 1st. These are the seven symbols and what they represent: 1. Umoja/ unity 2.Kujlchagulia/ self determination 3. Ujima/ collective work, responsibility 4. Ujamaa/ cooperative economics 5. Nia/ purpose 6. Kuumba/ creativity 7. lmanl/ faith They decorate with corn on their table. Their colors are red, black, and green.

Gifts are exchanged in red envelopes with money. For children, gifts are left on their bedside on New Years Eve, usually with two tangerines. For adults, the gifts are given on the Chinese New Year.

The largest menorah stands at 32-feet high and weighs 4,000 pounds!

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The star-shaped pinata has seven points that are meant to symbolize the seven deadly sins.

Piñatas used during Las Posadas were originally stuffed with peanuts, oranges, and sugar canes. Today, they are sometimes filled with candy, too.

Over 2,000 years ago, Ancient Romans celebrated New Year's Day on January 1. The Ancient Roman God, Janus, had two faces. People thought he was able to look back on the past year and look forward to the new year. January was also named after the god, Janus. 

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If I were you I would be wondering, are there any special people associated with this holiday? Yes, there are! The special people include: 1. Mary 2. Joseph 3. Jesus 4. Kids The reason why they are important is because they all tie the festival together.

Here are some foods people eat while they celebrate Las Posadas:

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When is this holiday celebrated? Diwali is celebrated on the 15th day of the Hindu month, Kartik. Kartik is a month that overlaps with October and November. In 2022, Diwali will be celebrated on October 24. It lasts for five days.

New Year's Day Celebrations

People celebrate New Year's Day in many different ways. Many people begin celebrating on New Year's Eve, which is December 31.

The ball drop in Times Square in New York City, NY is very popular! You can also watch it on tv! It weighs over 11,000 pounds!

Parades are a fun way to celebrate the new year. This picture shows the Mummers' Parade in Philadelphia, PA.

People make new year's resolutions! They set goals for themselves to achieve in the new year.

People ring in the new year with their family and friends.

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Jalebis, pedas, and banana chips are foods that people eat during Diwali. Jalebis is sweet and looks like orange discs. Pedas are soft and milky.

COOL INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHINESE NEW YEAR

- Chinese New Year is also called "Spring Festival." - During this celebration, people eat foods that they believe will bring them good luck and wealth in the new year, like dumplings. - On the last day of the Chinese New Year, there will be a full moon. - Some people are very superstitious during this celebration. They do not wash their hair or clothes, sweep, or take out the trash because they believe that will remove good luck from their houses.

There is a special person! Rama is important because he fought the demon king and won.

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Kwanzaa Foods

On Kwanzaa, they have a big feast and lay a mkeka on the table. Each child in the family gets a muhindi, which is an ear of corn.

A mkeka is a cloth that people put over their tables.

Dear Readers, We appreciate your interest in our book! We hope you learned as much information as we did as we researched different winter celebrations. Happy holidays!

For more information, click on the link below to check out some of the websites and videos that we watched and researched! <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DhlL0FUFuq7yoUwtEEoP1jA2ttBjzEbNR6GLxi1VI90/edit?usp=sharing">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DhlL0FUFuq7yoUwtEEoP1jA2ttBjzEbNR6GLxi1VI90/edit?usp=sharing</a>

Who celebrates this hoilday?

Jewish people celebrate this holiday by lighting the menorah, eating food, playing games, and spending time with family and friends.

Fun Facts About Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa lasts seven days. It starts on December 26th and ends on January 1st.

Kwanzaa means "first fruits" of the harvest.

People who celebrate Kwanzaa put corn on the table for decoration.

Father Time represents the year that has passed.

Mary Joseph Jesus Kings

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They eat fish dumplings and spring rolls. They eat these foods because they think it will give them wealth in the new year.

Las Posadas is celebrated from December 16th to December 24th. The nine nights of Posadas leading up to Christmas are said to represent the nine months that Jesus spent in Mary's womb, or to represent nine days of the journey that Mary and Joseph took traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

I know you are wondering, ¨What? Yes! There is a Las Posadas song and part of the lyrics are:

¨In the name of heaven I ask you for shelter for my beloved wife can go no farther. This is not an inn. Get on with you! I can not open the door ,you might be a rogue.¨

What is the reason for this celebration?

Over centuries, Diwali has become a national festival that is celebrated by Hindu and other non-Hindu communities. Long ago, Lord Rama defeated the demon king, Ravana. During this holiday, people celebrate good over evil. People put out clay lamps to get rid of their fears and darkness. 

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Hanukkah is a tradition to many people and they celebrate in different ways.

People also give gifts, like gelt during Hanukkah. Gelt is money. Sometimes children receive chocolate gelt that they can eat. 

Many people play the dreidel game to celebrate this holiday.

Hanukkah first began when Mattathias destroyed much of his city. He wanted to rebuild his city. They celebrated because they wanted to give back to the gods.

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 for African Americans to celebrate their freedom. African Americans celebrate their achievements and culture.

I know you are wondering, "Who celebrates this holiday?"

Mexicans and Latin Americans celebrate this holiday.

Oh and I forgot, Hispanic communities and people in the USA also celebrate this holiday.

History

Nian, a lion-like monster, terrorized Chinese villagers. The villagers defeated the monster. Then, the new year began.

The reason for Chinese New Year is to honor gods and families.

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Gifts are not usually exchanged for Las Posadas. Slowly though, the tradition of Santa Claus and gift giving is catching on as well!

People decorate with yellow, red, and orange candles. They also decorate the floor of their homes with rangoli, which is colored sand, so people see a beautiful design when they enter.

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By: Nathan Smith, Mark Villeda, and Lyla Edwards

Kwanzaa Gifts

Gifts are exchanged by children and parents. Gifts are exchanged on the last day of Kwanzaa. The gifts include a book, a heritage symbol, and sometimes handmade gifts like jewelry and baskets.

Hanukkah starts during late November and lasts until December. It lasts for eight days. The exact date for Hanukkah changes each year. This year, Hanukkah began on November 28 and ended on December 6, 2021.

Hanukkah is referred to as the Festival of Lights.

People celebrate Las Posadas by going from house to house asking, "Is there room for me?" They do this because they are trying to recreate the Bible story of Mary and Joseph. The kids ask first because they are in the front of the line.

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By: Na'Ziya Brim Avram Smith Barrett Sellers

Chinese New Year Decorations

For Chinese New Year, people decorate their homes with green plants, red lanterns, paintings, paper cuttings, and colorful lights. 

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