When I was younger I have fond memories of the holiday season at school being a very festive time. In kindergarten, I remember having a pancake breakfast with Santa as well as frying latkes with parent volunteers. It’s where I, as an elementary student learned the words to Silent Night. We sang it one year for our holiday concert. Even thought I’m Jewish and don’t’ believe in Jesus I sang it and still to this day think it’s a really beautiful song.
Well times, they sure have changed. Last week, Princess Peach had her school’s holiday concert. Parents of the kindergarten students were invited to their concert in the afternoon. The three classes were each performing two songs. Unlike my more festive concerts her’s was, let’s say…bland. There was no holiday cheer or spirit. There wasn’t even a feeling of a winter “wonderland”. Nothing adorned the walls or hung from the ceilings. The students were dressed in their “fancy clothes” but nothing that screamed “happy holidays”. There were no holidays signs, or symbols but most shocking of all the students didn’t sing any holiday songs! Sure, the kids did a great job singing but it wasn’t holiday songs. My mom and I was shocked. How can you have a holiday concert without any holiday songs?! It didn’t seem very festive.
What have we done as a society? We have become so politically correct as to not offend anyone, that we have taken the fun out of the holidays! Why couldn’t the students learn one Christmas song, a Chanukah song, a Kwanza song, a generic winter song and any other songs relating to the school’s population of students? I really don’t get it. Teaching our kids to be inclusive and respectful of each others religions and traditions is more meaningful than singing random non-holiday songs and pretty much ignoring the holidays all together. It’s so important to share cultures, religions and traditions. That’s one of the most special things is to share each others differences and similarities. By having a holiday concert with no holiday songs, it’s just a regular concert. It’s not a holiday concert because what holiday(s) are we celebrating?
Let’s bring back the cheer to school holiday concerts! Let’s celebrate and sing about our differences!
What does your child’s school to celebrate the holidays?
My son is in grade 1 and over the last 2 weeks he has been coming home excited to share what he has learned about different holidays! he is blown away that there are so many and wants to know more and more about them. We live in a very multicultural neighborhood, and his school is very diverse. He has lots of questions about his own background, his dad is Filipino/Canadian heritage and I am Scottish/Canadian.
His concert is tomorrow and the songs they have been practicing are more winter themed than holiday themed and I’m ok with that.
This is fabulous! I am sorry the concert was less than festive.
I have to share! My daughter’s school put on the best play for a school that represents Canada so well. LOTS of cultures. Lots of backgrounds. Lots of religions. The play was called “December In Our Town” and I was in tears several times because all I kept thinking was if we could take this play and apply it to the world right this minute we would all be happier. There was a cast of 6 leads who were gathering food donations (sweetly, they used Feed NS boxes – so even the play was helping a local foodbank!) in their town. As they went from place to place the people handing over their donations all happened to be celebrating something.. from Divali, to Chanukah, to Eid, to Christmas, to Kwaanza, to Chinese New Year, from the birth of Christ, to Santa, to Luminaras, to Pinatas, to Dreidels, to gifts. All roads lead to light and hope and generosity for those less fortunate. Seriously, it was truly a thing of beauty.