Christmas around the world, is a free pack created by NGfL Cymru and shared through the TES; it contains three very useful resources. The first is a PowerPoint presentation with a slide for each country. It is in the form of an advent calendar so each day, as the children open it, they learn about the customs from a new part of the world.
France- Norway
- China
- The Czech Republic
- South Africa
- Austria
- Canada
- Brazil
- Finland
- India
- Venezuela
- Ukraine
- Scotland
- Poland
- Ethiopia
- Australia
- Italy
- Iraq
- Greece
- Iceland
- Lebanon
- Greenland
- Mexico
- and Wales!
Christmas Quiz
Also in the pack, there is a Christmas Quiz based on the information children have read in the advent calendar.
Country Finder Map
The final resource in the pack is the Country Finder, a map of the world which children can use to find and add the names of the places that have been mentioned in the advent calendar.
Notes for Teachers
The notes for teachers – at the end of the PowerPoint Presentation – provide the following information:
“Please note that the traditions included in this resource are both old and new. Some of those mentioned may not be the way many people in that country celebrate Christmas today and may be very old.
You could discuss old and new traditions in Wales and the UK with the children so that they understand this point and avoid any ‘stereotypical’ views of other traditions. Many old traditions, such as the Mari Lwyd in Wales, are starting to regain popularity.
It is also a good idea to get your children to briefly compare the traditions each day with our own Christmas festivities to find differences and similarities.” (NGFL Cymru)
It also reminds teachers to think about how they will answer any questions about Father Christmas, should they arise.
Christmas around the world is a lovely resource with a great advent calendar that could be used as a whole class reading exercise every day with no problem. It is well worth downloading, if you don’t already have it.
The resource is shared freely by the TES who advise: “This resource acts as a virtual Advent calendar and could be used with the accompanying Word documents as a standalone lesson or for a few minutes each day in December to introduce and explore Christmas traditions around the World, both old and new. This resource covers aspects of the Identity and Culture theme in the ESDGC Common Understanding document for KS2.” (TES)