It's finals time, and although that means stress and work, it also means that the Christmas and New Year holidays are almost here. For ESL students these holidays may be familiar or unfamiliar, depending upon the culture they are from. How do Americans celebrate Christmas? The answer is hardly simple. They celebrate many types of Christmas traditions, from German to Irish and English, from Italian to Greek and Russian. They celebrate differently in different parts of the country, from eating lobster in Maine to making ice sculptures in Alaska, from a visit from a Cajun Santa in New Orleans to a parade with bagpipers in Virginia. Christmas is a religious holiday, but it has also become a secular celebration that some non-Christians celebrate with tress and presents. Students need to know its origins and some of its popular customs.
As for New Year's, many cultures have some type of New Year's celebration, so they can compare and contrast their celebrations with the American one(s). Students can do research and make presentations on the celebration of the New Year around the world as a class project.
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