Learning about Christmas

http://www.thisischristmas.com
Title: Christmas in London and the UK
Description: Family oriented website about Christmas events and markets in London and the UK. Read
the Christmas UK Blog, View beautiful flash animations.

http://www.theholidayzone.com/
The Holiday Zone offers free holiday and seasonal educational resources for use in early childhood and elementary educational
settings. Holiday and seasonal materials include learning games, whole language activities, writing prompts, songs, action rhymes, fingerplays, printable worksheets, printable and interactive puzzles, coloring pages, art and craft activities, educational game ideas, and children's literature recommendations. Themes include: Easter, Chusok, Hanukkah and Christmas.

Christmas Traditions Around the World
http://www.caslt.org/research/christmas4.htm
An annotated guide to numerous sites detailing international Christmas traditions. Teachers and librarians may especially be inspired by an  ielementary school's internet scavenger hunts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/christmas_1.shtml
Website. A commonsense explanation of Christmas as a Christian holy day.

  St Nicholas - the origins of Santa

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35

Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/DicChri.html

Text of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".

How Christmas Works Marshall Brain

A comprehensive site about the Christmas story and how it is observed.

The Gift of the Magi

 http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
Original Text of this short story by O. Henry.

The Christmas truce [website] / by Aaron Shepard.

S hepard, Aaron.
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE34.html
Reader's theatre script which can be printed from Aaron Shephard's site for classroom use.

 World Map of Christmas Traditions

 http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/world.html
Click around this map to learn about traditions from different regions  and, along the way, learn about the history of this most cherished of  holidays.

Christmas Around The World
http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/
This is a collection of historical Christmas celebrations for many different countries.

Christmas World
http://www.northpole.net/world.htm
To hear about very different kinds of Christmas, visit these pages.

Ten ages of Christmas / by Christine Lalumia.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/ten_ages_gallery.shtml
Development of Christmas traditions from medieval times to today.

 Christmas In Ireland
http://www.irishclans.com/articles/irish_christmas.html
Irish Christmas traditions are similar to those found in many western countries but Ireland does have its unique Christmas rituals.

The History of Christmas

 http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/index.html
Explore our site to find out the true history

 The Evolution of Santa Claus
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/santa.html     Learn about the history of Santa Claus.

How Christmas works [website] : the complete guide to Christmas traditions! / by Marshall Brain.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/christmas.htm

 Christmas in Italy

 http://scuole.provincia.ps.it/dd.pesaro1/Lavori%20Netd@ys/christmas.htm
Learn about La Befana, the Christmas witch and other Italian Christmas Traditions.

http://www.initaly.com/regions/xmas/xmas.htm

Website. Interesting information about Italian Christmas customs

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Christmas
The site offers over two dozen Christmas legends and myths, including Jesus' birth date, the number of wise men, the accepted meaning of the Immaculate Conception, the origin of the Yule log, the symbolism of candy canes, Christmas cards, Boxing Day, the Twelve Days of Christmas, and more, while discrediting some commonly accepted Christmas news stories. Do not miss the fruitcake page.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/christmas.asp#immac17.
The History of "Silent Night" and "The

Christmas and Holiday Lesson Plans  Hot Chalk's Lesson Plan page

Christmas in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

 http://www.german-way.com/christmas.html
Although we usually take today's Christmas celebration customs for granted, most of the so-called "traditional" Christmas practices only date back to the 19th century.

http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/advanced/cyc_tracy.html

 The Symbols and Traditions of Christmas

 http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmassymb.htm

 Christmas in Norway

 http://www.julenissen.no/story.html
Christmas celebrated Norwegian style means that it is celebrated a little differently from the way other people do it.

 Christmas in Mexico

 http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/xmasindex.html
Learn about Mexico's Christmas traditions and customs.

 Christmas in Sweden

 http://hem.bredband.net/berteg/xmas.htm
The festive season is a long one in Sweden and there are many traditions to learn about.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/christmas_underfire_01.shtml
Website. Tells how people of Britain celebrated Christmas during World
War II.

Christmas Around the World

Education World
Lesson ideas for various learning areas.

Twelve Days of Christmas-
A short discussion of "the fascinating stories behind two of the most popular Christmas carols." Provides the "most likely origin" for "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (a memory game) as well as a discussion of other popular interpretations of this song. Also learn how a broken church organ inspired "Silent Night.  Includes lyrics and audio files. From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Note: Online quiz is not functioning.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/advent/carols/index.shtml

The Night Before Christmas
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2id=MooNigh.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1

 Clement Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" including original illustrations.

     Green Christmas: Tips for an Eco-Friendly Holiday
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1220_041220_green_christmas.html

 Tips on how to be environmentally friendly this Christmas.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/christmas/index.html
Website. Contains lots of Christmas activities to keep children amused with crafts, online games

Green Groups Urge Trimming the Holiday Wasteline.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/12/1221_holidaywasteline.html
With the holiday season in full swing, conservation groups are chanting their mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
http://soe.hyperchat.com/newchat/u/lisanne/~soe/hippo.htm
Fun Christmas song to sing

CVC Christmas Links
http://www.cvc.org/christmas/index.htm
Links to sites related to Christmas and a collection of video and mp3 Christmas concert files.

Holiday Traditions
A guide to winter holiday traditions from around the world. The site mainly addresses Christmas greetings, decorations, and related traditions. Browsable by country. Also includes brief information about holidays that celebrate light or enlightenment, such as Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan.  From the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
http://www.msichicago.org/temp_exhibit/catw2004/traditions/

http://abruzzo2000.com/abruzzo/traditions/christmas/
Website. Visit the Abruzzo region in Italy for poems and traditional songs, Christmas recipes

http://www.firststep.com.au/gday_down_under/
Create your own cards to send to a friend by e-mail. Just follow the simple steps.

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/christmas/
The Christmas page from the Cultural and Recreation Portal provides an excellent starting point

Australian Christmas Cards
http://www.australianexplorer.com/electronic_postcard_christmas.htm
Select from a range of Christmas cards with an Australian flavour.

Christmas Around The World
http://www.rochedalss.qld.edu.au/xmas/christmaslinks.htm
Links to sites about Christmas traditions in several different countries.

Culture Goggles: Same Holy Land, Different Holidays
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/06/gk2/holidays.html
In this lesson, students will visit the Culture Goggles exhibit in Xpedition Hall, where students select a religion to see how a Christian, a Jew, or a Muslim might view the Old City of Jerusalem in Israel

Dickens for Dummies: Notes on "A Christmas Carol"
http://dickensfordummies.homestead.com/carol.html
Summary notes on this story by Dickens.

Christmas
World Book, Inc.
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/holidays/christmas

Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=238
Students are invited to attend a 19th Century party as a character from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. To play this role, students must  understand the values and customs Dickens' characters represented in Victorian society

The Gift of Holiday Traditions: Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas
http://edsitement.neh.gov/monthly_feature.asp?id=83
Before taking time off to enjoy the holidays, take the opportunity to  discuss with students the way different cultures contribute to what becomes a popular holiday tradition.

Poets of Christmas Past
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20041224friday.html
In this lesson, students consider the meanings of Christmas by reading and creating a sequel to the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas".  

Christmas Adventure
http://www.midcoast.com.au/~ttc/Christmas2.html
Internet hunt based on Christmas.

My Christmas
http://www.cap.nsw.edu.au/bb_site_intro/stage1_Modules/xmas/celebrations.html
Students investigate how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the  world.

Christmas Internet Hunt
http://www.republic.k12.mo.us/middle/dswadley/cmashunt.htm
Follow the clues to answer the Christmas questions.

Christmas Shopping WebQuest
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/ttroiano/webq.htm
The task is to set up a budget for your virtual shopping trip.

Christmas Around The World Webquest
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/nbarkhou/christmaswq/
Research Christmas in three countries and prepare a presentation.

Teacher Reference
Christmas Recipes and Crafts From Around the World
http://www2.worldbook.com/features/holidays/html/rec_cra.htm
Liven the holiday with recipes and crafts from around the world.

Christmas Crafts
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/christmas/
These crafts projects use materials found around the house, like egg cartons, cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint and glue.

Christmas
BBC
An explanation of Christmas as a Christian holy day

Crafts Ideas for Christmas
http://www.kidsandcrafts.com/december.shtml
These simple yet elegant projects are perfect for gift-giving around the holidays while creating lasting memories for you and your child.

Aussie Christmas
http://tww.id.au/c/index.html
Links to Australian Christmas songs, stories and traditions.

Christmas: A Multicultural Festival
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/christmas/
This article discusses the changing face of Christmas, its origins,  traditions and how Australians celebrate Christmas.

Aussie Jingle Bells
http://www.jaybees.com.au/carols/ausjinglebells.html
Learn this variation of the traditional Christmas song

Christmas: A multicultural festival DCITA
Focuses on how Christmas is celebrated in Australia.

The Twelve Aussie Days of Christmas
http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~pm/Christmas/auscarol.html
Aussie version of The Twelve Days of Christmas

  Aussie Christmas Stories and Poems
http://www.users.bigpond.com/mpthomas/christmas/xmasstory.html
Collection of ten Australian Christmas stories

Australian Christmas Songs and Poems
http://www.brainways.co.nz/Chrisweb/Information/Australia/aussisp3.htm
Collection of Australian Christmas songs and poems.

Aussie Christmas Recipes
http://www.thekoala.com/christmasrecipe.htm
Selection of Australian Christmas recipes.