Chinese New Year 2014 Year of the Horse

Chinese New Year is a ancient and charming festival. Why not explore the color, festivity, fun and pageantry of CNY this year? Chinese New Year 2014 begins on January 31 and celebrates Year of the Horse. Here is a unit with enough lessons for a two week unit. You'll find social studies, literature, writing, art, music, craft and food lessons.  Chinese New Year Lesson Planner and Unit

Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Advent Activities for Kids

Dec. 8 marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic liturgical calendar. As Dec. 8 fell on Sunday, the Church changed the holy day to Monday, Dec. 9. It will not be a holy day of obligation. Catholics believe that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from original sin so that she could birth the Messiah, Jesus and honor her on this day. Here are activities for parents and children to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Advent, a Christmas preparatory season during which the feast falls.  Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Advent Activities for Parents and Children

Kosher Thanksgiving Recipes for Hanukkah Holiday

Hanukkah always begins on 25 Kislev in the Jewish lunisolar calendar. Ergo it's a "movable feast" on the western calendar. This year it starts very early, on Nov. 27, the day prior to Thanksgiving.

Metro Detroit has a large Hebrew population. AP shares ways local Jews are approaching the Thanksgiving-Chanukah overlap. Hillel Day School in Farmington has special activities. Detroit bakeries are making Challurky. Yep, you guessed it: turkey shaped challah. I'm sure my east side Jewish friends will love THAT schmaltz.

We aren't Jewish, but our son is dating an Ashkenazi girl. They're driving over from Detroit for Thanksgiving.
We believe it's part of our Catholic duty to understand and respect all faiths. So we're exploring ways to blend national holidays, Catholic holy days and Jewish traditions. Example: Thanksgiving. I won't make it completely kosher, but here are tweaks.   Kosher Thanksgiving Recipes for Hanukkah Holiday

Fair Trade Christmas Shopping Helps Marginalized, Disaster Victims

We have two god-daughters. Each year, I send birthday and Christmas gifts at the some time to them. One has a December b-day and the other, January. I have the gifts shipped to their homes. I don't like to spend double on shipping and handling (to my house and then theirs). I always shop from the same place, Greater Good Network Fair Trade (from The Hunger Site suite of online donation sites).   Fair Trade Christmas Shopping

Free Printable Catholic Saints Coloring Pages for All Saints Day

November 1 marks the Catholic and Orthodox holy day of All Saints Day, making October 31 All Hallow's Eve (or Halloween). Some protestant Christians celebrate it too. Use these free printable activities to explore Catholic saints, holy days and All Saint's Day and Halloween.  Free Printable Catholic Saints and All Saint's Day Coloring Pages

In Vino Veritas, Wine Chat from a Michigan Girl

I grew up on wine lore from my Grandpa Kinney, that wonderfully mostly Irish guy who drank Cask Cream Sherry daily and Manischewitz on Sabbath. I don't know why. We weren't Jewish.

I started drinking wine in 1982. Riunite D'Oro, raspberry, Liebfraumilch from Drink-All in Muskegon. Tosti Asti Spumante on special occasions.Don't judge. There was no wine culture then.  I've come a long way since then. Wine is the universal language.
Wine Meanderings from a Michigan Girl

When It's Bullying, Racial Profiling and When It's Not

An incident occurred on "National Taco Day" which highlights American cultural ignorance and underscores how profiling can stem from said ignorance. I subscribe to a Latino empowerment group, Presente.org. An update was sent which explains:

"Not all Latinos grow up eating tacos. The idea that we do is just another harmful stereotype of Latino people and cultures. But that stereotype was embraced, validated, and propagated by Fox News Channel host Brian Kilmeade. During a celebration of “National Taco Day” on the October 4 Fox and Friends broadcast, Kilmeade asked meteorologist Maria Molina, "So what are the tips we need to know? You grew up on tacos, correct?" But Molina was born in Nicaragua — tacos aren’t even commonly eaten in her country!"

Presente.org is demanding an apology from Kilmeade to Molina. I signed the petition, but I have some concerns. Americans tend toward both extremes, ethnocentricism and ethnic slurring. There's a lot of talk of "we" and "they" but there's no such thing as a full-blooded American, save the native American Indians. White settlers are just a hodge-podge of people from different countries. We're all immigrants."We" are all also "they." And ethnic profiling and polarization is rampant. But not all stereotypes are negative. When is an ethnic stereotype profiling, discrimination and bullying and when is it not? How should we handle profiling?   National Taco Day Insult Underscores Racial, Ethnic, Religious Profiling Issues - News - Bubblews