Winter Holidays
This day celebrates the birth of Jesus on December 25th.
Christmas
FUN FACT: On Christmas Eve, Santa comes from the North Pole in a sleigh to deliver gifts. In Hawaii, it is said he arrives by boat; in Australia, the jolly man arrives on water skis; and in Ghana, he comes out of the jungle.
This is the most popular Christmas Candy.
HINT: They are red and white.
Candy Canes
FUN FACT: Candy Canes were originally gave the candies to young children to keep them quiet during long church services. It wasn't until a German-Swedish immigrant decorated his tree with candy canes in 1847 that they became popular as a Christmas candy.
Most children leave this out for Santa on Christmas Eve.
Cookies and Milk
FUN FACT: Leaving cookies and milk for Santa—and perhaps a few carrots for his reindeer—took off as an American holiday tradition in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. In that time of great economic hardship, many parents tried to teach their children that it was important to give to others and to show gratitude for the gifts they were lucky enough to receive on Christmas.
This song is about a reindeer with a red nose.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
FUN FACT: This song was the second best selling Christmas song ever!
FINISH THE LYRICS!
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way...
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
FUN FACT: This song was not originally meant to be a Christmas song. It was originally intended for the Thanksgiving season but it became associated with Christmas music and the holiday season in general decades after it was first performed on Washington Street in Boston in 1857. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder.
This holiday is celebrated by lighting 9 candles for 8 days on a menorah.
Hanukkah
FUN FACT: Potato pancakes, known as latkes in Yiddish, are traditionally associated with Hanukkah and are served with applesauce and sour cream. The dates of Hanukkah change because this holiday follows the lunar cycle.
These are the traditional colors associated with Hanukkah.
Blue and White (sometimes silver)
FUN FACT: The colors associated with Hanukkah are from the Israeli flag, designed by the Zionist movement in 1891 and officially adopted in 1948. The flag's blue stripes symbolize those found on tallitot, traditional Jewish prayer shawls that are worn at synagogue, bar or bat mitzvahs, and Jewish weddings. Blue and white come with universal associations, too. White suggests purity, peace, and light. Blue is associated with the sky, faith, wisdom, and truth.
This poem is read to many children on Christmas Eve as an American tradition.
'Twas the Night before Christmas
FUN FACT: Clement Clarke Moore wrote this poem and it was originally named "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
This song is about a jolly happy soul, with a corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the Snowman
FUN FACT: Frosty came alive with a magical top hat!
FINISH THE LYRICS:
Rockin' around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop...
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Every couple tries to stop
FUN FACT: This song is 62 years old, and Brenda Lee, recorded the song when she was 13 in 1958. The song was written by Johnny Marks, who also penned “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It didn't become a hit until Lee started having success in 1960.
This is an African holiday in which family and friends exchange gifts and light a series of black, red, and green candles.
Kwanzaa
FUN FACT: They light a series of 7 candles that represent the seven basic values of African American family life: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
This is a popular Hanukkah candy.
Gelt
FUN FACT: “Gelt” is a Yiddish term for “money”. Hanukkah is celebrated in the home beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. In ancient times, oil was used in the menorah. Over time, candles were substituted for the oil.
This year was the 88th anniversary of this tradition in Rockefeller Center, in New York City.
HINT: It is very merry and bright!
Christmas Tree Lighting
FUN FACT: The tree, typically a Norwegian spruce ranging in height from 60 feet to 100 feet, is adorned with five miles of multicolored LED lights and ornaments and, as of 2018, is topped with a star that comprises 3 million Swarovski crystals. After the tree is done for the holiday cheer, it is sent to a lumber yard to be used for Habitat for Humanity.
This popular Hanukkah song talks about making something out of clay and when it's dry and ready, you can play.
I Have a Little Dreidel
FUN FACT: There are the four letters on the dreidel: nun, gimel, hay, and shin. The letters originally represented the Yiddish instructions for what to do when you land on each one (Yiddish and Hebrew use the same alphabet): Gimel, “whole”: take the whole pot; hay, “half”: take half the pot; nun, “nothing”: don’t take out or put in; and shin, “put in”: put some of your coins into the pot.
This is a summer loving snowman from a popular Disney movie.
Olaf
FUN FACT: Created from Elsa’s magical powers, Olaf is by far the friendliest snowman in Arendelle. He is innocent, outgoing and loves all things summer. Olaf may be a bit naive, but his sincerity and good-natured temperament make him a true friend to Anna and Elsa. And NO, he does not know Samantha.
This day is January 1st.
New Years Day
FUN FACT: Commonly served in the southern part of the United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring luck and prosperity for the new year, greens (usually collards) to bring wealth, and pork to symbolize moving forward.
The names of the 9 reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh.
Dancer, Dasher, Comet, Blitzen, Prancer, Cupid, Vixen, Donner, Rudolph
FUN FACT: Reindeer are real! In North America reindeer are also called caribou. Both the males and females grow antlers. Their noses are specially designed to warm the air before it gets to their lungs.
This is a tradition when people dress up, travel or walk around their towns and sing Christmas songs.
Christmas Caroling
FUN FACT: The word Carol actually means dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.
The best selling Christmas single of all time.
HINT: It is sung by Bing Crosby
White Christmas
FUN FACT: “White Christmas” spent 11 weeks at #1 in 1942. Before rock n’ roll became the dominant style of popular music, Bing Crosby was the most popular singer in the U.S. Today, he’s best remembered for “White Christmas,” but that song was his 29th #1 hit. To put that in perspective, the Beatles only had 20 chart-toppers.
FINISH THE LYRICS:
I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need...
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
FUN FACT: IT WAS THE FIRST SONG TO BE A NUMBER 1 HIT IN FOUR SEPARATE DECADES. The song has charted every single holiday season since its release 26 years ago which means that this year marks the fourth straight decade that it's been a number 1 hit in—something that no other song has ever done!
This is the shortest day of the year.
HINT: Occurs (usually) on December 20, 21, 22, or 23.
Winter Solstice
FUN FACT: This marks the exact moment when half of the Earth is tilted away from the sun. Long ago, people celebrated by lighting bonfires and candles to coax back the sun. If you stand outside at noon on this day and look at your shadow, it will be the longest shadow that you will cast all year!
These 2 colors associated with Christmas.
Red and green
FUN FACT: Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever! Red is also the color of Holly berries.
Answers many vary: Gelt, Latkas (potato pancakes), brisket, noodle kugal, matzo ball soup are some examples.
FUN FACT: During Hanukkah, families eat latkes(potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts), or other foods which are fried in oil, to celebrate and commemorate the miracle of the Festival of Lights. In Yemen, children went from house to house, tins in hand, to collect wicks for the Hanukkah Menorah.
This song was sung by Adam Sandler during the holiday season.
HINT: The name of the song has to do with a Jewish Holiday!
The Chanukkah Song
FUN FACT: Adam Sandler wrote this novelty song with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham. He first performed it on the show's Weekend Update segment on December 3, 1994. The song details how Jewish kids feel left out during the Christmas season, and he rattles off a list of celebrities throughout the song.
FINISH THE LYRICS:
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight...
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
FUN FACT: The song was created around 1934 via Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith. The lyrics for Winter Wonderland talk about Parson Brown in the first bridge and a circus clown later in the song. This winter based song has been recorded by over 150 musicians!