Westland’s Traditions, Holidays, and Celebrations Practice
This practice guides how we recognize and learn about traditions, holidays, and celebrations across our classrooms and school community.
Traditions, Holidays, and Celebrations Overview
Traditions, holidays, and celebrations are important to a school community because they help create a shared joy and a way to express cultural connection. They help to foster a sense of belonging, create meaningful connections to history, and help to grow a shared identity. Holidays and traditions occur in the classrooms and throughout the Westland community in a variety of ways.
Additional Benefits of Recognizing Traditions, Holidays, and Celebrations
Creating a sense of community within the Group and our school
Affirming the value and significance of the cultural identity of all of our students and fostering an inclusive community where students and families feel recognized and included
Developing an understanding that there are multiple ways to recognize holidays, celebrations, and traditions and that not all people celebrate holidays.
Reinforcing that differences are valuable and learning about others’ cultures, traditions, and worldviews is both necessary and rewarding
Learning to think critically about assumptions, historical biases, and messaging that exists around holidays, celebrations, and traditions
These guidelines include a compilation of practices that frame intentional and reflective community-wide practice. By thinking about the purposes of recognizing and teaching about traditions, celebrations, and holidays, Westland aspires to meet the needs of our increasingly diverse student population in an aspect of living that holds great meaning for many Westland families. The acknowledgment and celebration of traditions, celebrations, and holidays allow children to recognize themselves and their families as they connect with aspects of their cultural roots and everyday lives. Children gain the opportunity to learn about the traditions and values of others, learning about how others’ lives are alike and different from their own, and learn to appreciate the values and beliefs of others.
These guidelines provide a framework that helps create inclusive classroom and community-wide practice around traditions, celebrations, and holidays.
Definition of Traditions, Holidays, and Celebrations Activities
Activities intended to acknowledge traditions, celebrations, and holidays might include formal or informal recognition and/or be expressed individually or more broadly within a Group. They can be as simple as reading a book about a holiday and as elaborate as incorporating holiday exploration into the learning explicitly. The time spent on holidays and celebrations will vary according to the age, interests, and needs of the children and teachers. Examples of activities and celebrations might include personal reflection, appreciations, group discussions, family shares, projects, food and cooking, literature, music, art, or guest speakers.
Examples of traditions, holidays, and celebrations at Westland School include:
Birthday Recognition: Appreciation circles or books for birthdays. While there may be variations in how Group teachers facilitate this classroom practice, one example would be where participating children share an appreciation, a favorite memory, and/or a wish.
Inclusive Calendaring: Surveying families to invite feedback on holidays that are important to their family to be included in our school's internal calendar.
Fall Feast: The Fall Feast has a long history at Westland School. Formerly known as the “Thanksgiving Feast,” it has been annually held in the week preceding the Fall Break. In their Groups, children cook food as a Group to contribute to a schoolwide meal. The menu is most often inspired by local fall harvest foods. Children eat with their Group partners for a multi-Group, intergenerational meal. The meal is followed by a schoolwide dance organized by our Creative Movement teacher, and the day is filled with much joy!
Family Fare: Participating families share bite-sized sample portions of food or beverages from their family culture, heritage, or tradition for the children and staff at a scheduled Hot Lunch. Families may share the significance of the dish and recipe with the full community through signage the day of.
Family Surveys: “Get to know you” family surveys provide families the opportunity to share the traditions, holidays, and celebrations that are important to their family with the Group teacher.
Family Shares: Family Shares offer a wonderful opportunity for parents, guardians, and extended family members to share traditions, holidays, and celebrations that are meaningful to them with their Group. We believe everyone has something to share! It might be a tradition connected to food, a family song, a weekly tradition, or a favorite book.
Reflective Practice on Holidays, Traditions, and Celebrations: Westland children explore and learn about traditions, holidays, and celebrations in various ways through the social studies curriculum.
Family Story Night: Participating families tell their multicultural family stories with the community. Sharing and hearing each other's stories allows us to affirm and celebrate the ways Westland families are similar and beautifully unique on topics such as holiday traditions, family history, family structure, religion, or ethnic/racial heritage.
Monthly Heritage Months: The school will collaborate with the Equity and Inclusion Committee for Parents and Guardians to share information about monthly national Heritage Months, promoting cultural affirmation and representation.
Guiding Practices for Staff Recognizing Traditions, Holidays, and Celebrations
Be inclusive and strive to validate all children. Pay attention to the balance and the importance that is placed on particular cultures, religions, and traditions.
Do your own learning about your students’ backgrounds (informed by the survey). Additionally, create opportunities for students to share about their personal practice, without the burden of teaching a holiday practice.
Avoid defining an entire culture or faith by a single holiday.
Be mindful of cultural appropriation and stereotypes.
Any aspect of religion should be shared in an objective manner so as not to endorse or emphasize one religion over another or religion over non-religion, paying attention to the difference between teaching religion and teaching about religion.
Discussion of religion in the classroom should be sensitive to the beliefs of the different children in the class. No child should be made to feel that their personal beliefs or practices are being questioned, infringed upon, or compromised.
Not all children celebrate the seasonal holidays. Inclusive language and practice should be accessible and affirming to non-observing children without drawing attention to individual children.
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