Christmas Around the World

Today we celebrated Christmas Around the World. We went to Mrs. Van Horn's room, Mrs. Backlin's room, and Mrs. Ferrell's room.


In Mrs. Van Horn's room, we learned about Christmas in Australia. We learned:
-It is summer instead of winter and they don't have snow.
-When you throw a boomerang, it comes back to you.
-There is an island close to it with a Tazmanian Devil on it.
-There are lots of kangaroos in Australia.
-Every day it is hot.
-It is a small country.
-They use the boomerang to trip or knock out animals.
-Santa arrives in a bathing suit.


In Mrs. Backlin's class we learned about Christmas in Brazil. We learned:
-They have fireworks at Christmas.
-They don't have stockings. They use a shoe.
-They don't have snow.
-They call Santa Papai Noel.


In Mrs. Ferrell's class, we learned about Christmas in Mexico. We learned:
-They have a fiesta, or party, there.
-They have a flower called a poinsettia.


In our classroom, we learned about Christmas in the Netherlands, or Holland.
-Their Santa is called Sinterklaas, and he is skinny.
-They put out wooden shoes instead of stockings.
-Sinterklaas has a helper who goes down the chimney. His helper's name is Zwarte Peite.
-Sinterklaas arrives in a steamboat, and rides a white horse in a parade.
-They celebrate Christmas two times. On December 5 and 6, they give gifts. On December 25 and 26, they have family time.
-December 6 is Sinterklaas' birthday.
-They speak Dutch. We said the months of the year, days of the week, and numbers to 10 in Dutch.
-They are known for wooden shoes, windmills, and tulips.
-They like to ice skate in the winter because they have lots of water.
-They have a celebration called "Midwinter Horn Blowing". Men blow horns that are 3-4 feet long over a well.
-You have to be in the royal family to be the king or queen.
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