5 Do’s and Don'ts During the Holiday Season

By Estella Church & Mandy Matthews 

During this time of year, teachers begin plastering their classroom walls with Christmas trees, twinkle lights, ornaments, and other Christmas decor. We even play Christmas carols sometimes, often without regard for students’ various religions, traditions, and holiday practices. What if, as you’re playing a randomized winter playlist, “First Noel” comes on. Your student, who is a Jehovah’s Witness, turns inward, gets quiet, and suddenly chooses not to participate. You have no idea why since they are usually social, bubbly, and participates in class regularly. Did you consider they might feel uncomfortable within their learning space because of the Christmas vibes?  

As we wrap up semester 1 and move through the winter season, here are 5 do’s and don’ts around creating and protecting inclusive learning spaces. 

Do celebrate and acknowledge holidays other than in the month of December. Don’t focus on holidays primarily in December, it might come off that Christian Christmas is being favored. 

• For example, Hanukkah is often acknowledged during December because of the emphasis on Christian Christmas. In reality, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the high holidays in the Jewish faith. Practice using a multi-faith calendar to include high holidays of different religions and cultures into a yearlong calendar.

Do educate yourself on all holiday traditions including origin, history, and how they are observed. Don’t guess holiday traditions and present them inauthentically. 

• Build positive relationships with students and invite them or their parents to share more about their family’s traditions. In this way, we honor and uplift who they are and provide a space where learning and understanding can happen. We weary, however, of placing the burden of learning - as the educator - on others.  ​
  

Do educate students on the difference between secular and religious meanings. Don’t create new myths around holidays based on misinformation. 

• For example, Kwanzaa is often misconstrued as a religious holiday when in fact it is a cultural tradition celebrated by many African-Americans in the United States. Due to a lack of understanding, this myth has survived since Kwanzaa’s inception in the 1960’s. ​

Do share authentic demonstrations (videos, images, documentaries). Don’t practice reenactments. 

• If you have been watching the news of late, then you have witnessed costumes and reenactments done in poor taste, time after time. Just no. Avoid reenactments at all costs. Offer students and parents an opportunity to share; cultural festivals, potlucks, or other inclusive celebrations. ​​

Do share thematic framework of a holiday and connect the message to other teaching points throughout the year. Don’t ignore the underlying theme or origin of a holiday tradition. 

• The holidays of many cultures and world religions share common themes such as peace, forgiveness, honoring ancestors, giving thanks, etc. Use these themes as a vehicle to explore and learn about people of diverse cultures and faiths throughout the year. Celebrate the shared values and honor the different ways of expression.

“The December Dilemma”: 
Teaching Tolerance has created a great resource on inclusion during the holiday season. It features a webinar as well as a planning pack. The planning pack is especially useful as it asks us as educators to be reflective on our practice and self-assess present inclusion strategies or practices around the winter holiday season. 

#EnactChat VII: Inclusion 
Join us on December 14th at 10AM (PST) to share your best practices around creating inclusive learning spaces, especially around the holiday and winter season. We will discuss the following questions:

• What tools or strategies do you employ to cultivate inclusive learning spaces?
• Specifically during the holiday season, what considerations have you made to ensure all religions, cultural traditions, and practices are honored?  
• What challenges have you faced as you work towards creating inclusive spaces for all learners?