PR Hint of the Week - Dec 15, 2003 - World Holidays

Holidays are a time of celebration and I'm sure we are all in the
holiday spirit. What better way to share the holiday spirit and
promote peace on earth than by celebrating the uniqueness and
diversity around us. Why not create display tables or have an open
house featuring holiday traditions from around the world. Even if
there are not a lot of ethnic groups in your community, historically
there may have been ethnic groups who were a part of the founding of
your towns (ask your local historical society for more information).
There are also generally people willing to share their ancestral
backgrounds or high school exchanges students in the schools wanting
share their culture. Even better, why not dedicate an entire year to
celebrating a variety of holidays from around the world. You could
celebrate the Chinese New Year, White Day (the Japanese version of
Valentines Day), Dia de los Muertos, etc. By celebrating these traditions we can educate our communities about the wonderful diversity in our world.

For great examples of world holiday traditions check out these sites:

http://www.zuzu.org/daze.html

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/around_the_world/holidays/

http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/xmas/around.html

Wishing you all peace in your world,

Jennie Stapp

Technical Services Librarian
Montana Historical Society