Holidays

As we begin our Holiday session of Music Together and Holiday season in most of our homes I wanted to give you a little information about the different songs you have on your Holiday Music Together CD.
As you listen to your CD you will hear music from the following celebrations:
Diwali - A 5 day festival

Observed by	Hindus, Jains and Sikhs
Type	Religious, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius,Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago,Surinam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji (National holiday in these countries)
Date	Decided by the Hindu Lunisolar calendar
2011 date	Wednesday, 26 October
2012 date	Tuesday, 13 November
2013 date	Sunday, 3 November
Celebrations	Decorating homes with lights and candles, Fireworks, distributing sweets and gifts

Hanukkah - An 8 day Jewish festival

2012 date	Sunset, December 8 to nightfall, December 16
Celebrations	Lighting candles each night. Singing special songs, such asMa'oz Tzur. Reciting Hallelprayer. Eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and sufganiyot, and dairy foods. Playing thedreidel game, and givingHanukkah gelt

Christmas - Christian (and non-Christian) Holiday

Observed by	Christians Many non-Christians[1]
Type	Christian, cultural
Significance	Traditional birthday of Jesus
Date	December 25 (alternatively, January 6, 7 or 19)[2][3][4] (see below)
Observances	Church services, gift giving, family and other social gatherings, symbolic decorating

There are many celebrations around the world this time of year.  We celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ in our home.  However, I feel it is important for my children to learn about other celebrations around the world.  Listening to music from many cultures is a fantastic way to introduce the youngest children to other cultures.  Music from other cultures has fascinating tonalities that are wonderful to expose your children to.