It’s that time of the year again when two big "Global" festivals are round the corner – Christmas and New Year. With both my kids going to school, there is already a lot of exposure that they get to different festivals and celebrations across the world.
Both me and my husband are atheists, we do not believe in any religious practices or events, but that definitely does not mean that we not let our kids celebrate them.
One interesting thing that I have noticed in the younger daughter’s class is that they do not celebrate religious festivals the typical way. For instance, if it is Janmashtami, the school will not encourage idol worship or dressing up as the said characters.
Instead, they focus on the other aspects, such as the importance of milk in the festival, the mother child relationship and so on, and also make the celebrations more interesting by including learning activities such as puppet shows, story time and more.
Raising multicultural kids....
Coming from different cultural backgrounds ourselves, both me and my partner have been very sure about one thing – we both want our kids to learn and absorb the positives from both the cultures.
So, at home we speak Bengali, Hindi and English, and my kids are also picking up Marathi, as we now live in Mumbai.
Not just that, they celebrate all festivals such as Durga Puja, Navratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, Bhai Dooj, Holi, Christmas and even Eid, with mouth-watering Eid dishes. I feel that every Indian festival is a reason to celebrate and participate!
Continue reading on the next page to know how we encourage our kids to participate in different festivals and what all we do!
While we don't go into depths and find out the reasons behind each festival, we do try to make them aware about the main learning that's associated with each festival. It’s a lot of fun actually, and of course it means there is never a dull month in the house!
Both my husband and I feel that exposing our children to all the positives from an early age will let them develop a sense of understanding and tolerance towards those who don’t necessarily share the same heritage or cultural background as theirs.
Exposing them to many cultures and letting them participate in events and festivals will erase any cultural boundaries that a child might otherwise have. The more they know about others’ culture, ritual and religion, the more they will open up to the world, sharing the goodness and eventually turning the world into one big family.
What We Love Doing
- Read up facts about a particular event or religious event
- Help them draw about the same
- Create decorations at home for that particular celebration
- Check out recipes of the particular state and try to make something special at home on the day of the event
Just this way, we let our kids know all the flavours and cultures there are in this world to explore – it’s their own world after all, and all we want is to let them make it their home too.
Also Read: Indian Parents Are Undoubtedly The Most Generous In The World
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