I’ve decided that one of the main functions of kindergarten is the transmission of culture from one generation to the next. This seems especially true in the area of holidays. DJ has eagerly embraced every holiday he learns about at school, which to date has included Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and April Fools Day. We hid our smiles back in December when DJ commented on hearing “The 12 Days of Christmas”. “Mom--they’re singing the 6 days of Kwanzaa song, but with different words!” He’s already looking forward to Cinco de Mayo.
I am pretty much a grinch when it comes to holidays. Thus far, we’ve avoided having an indoor tree at Christmas (though we do decorate the evergreen that’s outside), and I generally refuse to take part in what I call “Hallmark Holidays”—special occasions that the card industry wants you to celebrate so they can make money. But there’s something about a kid begging you “don’t peek!” while he slips a fake spider onto your pillow as you’re pretending to sleep that softens even my hard heart. After he was in bed, I stealthily taped toilet paper to his door, trapping him inside. I froze his juice cup, put a spider of my own creation into his shoe, and Darrel taped his spoon to the table. If part of what children are supposed to teach us is joy, spontaneity, and a zest for living, then I’m willing to learn, even if it means I have to celebrate holidays.
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I love celebrating holidays, particularly religious ones, and have always enjoyed my own family's Christmas traditions, including the tree decorating. :) I've grown over the past several years in my appreciation of the church year, too, and try to make those holidays part of my observance as much as possible. They are fun and a meaningful, needed reminder of the big Story into which my small story fits.
ReplyDeletethanks for reminding me of the joy of April 1. Do you think I could get away with a spider in my Boy's shoe a day late????
ReplyDeleteLet me know when DJ is old enough to enjoy Star Wars so I can get him one of these:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ohgizmo.com/2009/04/03/you-asked-for-it-thinkgeek-to-try-to-produce-tauntaun-sleeping-bag/
Because that is just the coolest sleeping bag ever.