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Secondary Level Resources

Celebrations of Light 2025

Please see the resources below.

 

Celebrations of Light

Full Lessons

How do holiday lights work? Middle School, all grades
A Real Tree or Fake Tree? High School Econ lesson High School, all grades

Texts for Middle School

Saint Lucia’s Day St. Lucia’s Day, festival of lights celebrated in Sweden, Norway, and the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland on December 13 in honor of St. Lucia (St. Lucy).
Las Posadas Las Posadas is a religious festival celebrated in Latin America, especially Mexico, and in some Latino communities of the United States.
10 Facts About Christmas Learn all about the history and twinkly traditions of the festive season…
Diwali One of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Diwali (or Divali) marks the beginning of the new year in the Hindu calendar.
Hanukkah Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is a Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days. It usually occurs in December.
Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is an African American festival that lasts for seven days. It is celebrated around the world by millions of people of African descent. Kwanzaa was developed by the American scholar and activist Maulana Karenga in 1966.
Lunar New Year Each year people in many Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year. This holiday marks the beginning of another year on the lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the Moon.

Texts for High School

Saint Lucia’s Day Celebrations on this feast day, observed on December 13, honor the virgin martyr Santa Lucia, also known as Saint Lucy.
Las Posadas Las Posadas is a religious festival celebrated in Latin America, especially Mexico, and in some Latino communities of the United States.
History of Christmas Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.
Diwali Diwali, also spelled Divali,Deepavali, or Dipavali, one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika.
Hanukkah Hanukkah (or Chanukah) is a Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days. It usually occurs in December.
Kwanzaa Kwanzaa, annual holiday affirming African family and social values that is celebrated primarily in the United States from December 26 to January 1. Both the name and the celebration were devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies at California State University in Long Beach and an important figure in Afrocentrism.
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year, Chinese Chunjie, Vietnamese Tet, Korean Solnal, Tibetan Losar, also called Spring Festival, festival typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later.
International Nowruz Day What is Nowruz and why do we celebrate it?

Texts for Middle School and High School

A Season of Story Telling and Ceremony The Winter Solstice Begins a Season of Storytelling and Ceremony
Winter Solstice: Appreciating Rich Traditions

Videos for Middle and High School

The Importance of Winter Solstice Author and Journalist Waubgeshig Rice from Wasauksing First Nation shares the importance of winter solstice as a time of change and storytelling for indigenous peoples.
The History of the Rockefeller Christmas tree (Middle School all grades) The famous tree has been displayed at Rockefeller Center in NYC since 1931! Here's a look back at some of its more memorable moments.
Why is January 1st New Years Day? (High School all grades) The New Year has been celebrated since at least 2000 B.C.E. New Year was celebrated on January 1 in the Roman Empire because it was the day that new consuls were inaugurated. Since then we have had the Roman calendar, the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar, and the New Style Act calendar. Each tried to fuse the sun, the moon, the seasons, and important days in the Christian faith into one calendar, and celebrate the New Year on January 1. This finally happened in 1753!