Santa is not universal

[dules]

DD's "holiday program" at her (supposedly) secular preschool is next Thursday. She has been singing Jingle Bells and Must Be Santa plus some other songs I don't recognize. I asked the teachers if there were any Hanukkah songs and they said no. I asked why and they said (but tripped getting the words out) that "Santa is universal and avoids any religious references"....

Hmmm, last I knew, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and others don't usually have "Santa" on the program in December. Call me weird.

Now, I was raised Catholic, DH is Jewish and we're a bit on the fence about what we're doing anyway. We do get a tree because DH refuses to get involved in any kind of synagogue life (and until he's willing, I'm going to enjoy my tree). But how weird would it be for DD if she had no idea who this guy in the red suit was, and if the holiday she celebrates at home had no place in the big "holiday program" at school?

OK, vent over. It seems that the teachers did realize, before I had to point it out - but too late for the program.




Mary

[ellies mom]

I guess they are kind stuck between a rock and a hard place. They simply can't please anybody let alone everybody. I mean really, if they include Christian music then they need to include Jewish music but then some Christians get bent out of shape. If they don't include Jewish music, some Jewish people get bent out of shape. Ramadan was recent and Kawanza is coming up, do we include them or leave them out? If we leave them out people get upset and if we include them people get upset. If we do Santa, people get upset and if we don't people get upset. Oh wait, some people celebrate the solistice instead of Christmas. What do we do with them? Do we just ignore the season all together? Well, no because then people get upset.

I'm not picking on you, Mary, really I'm not. But it is definately not a decision I want to make.

[tarahsolazy]

We don't do Santa and we're Catholic!

I think only really winter songs, like Jingle Bells, or Walking in a Winter Wonderland qualify as universal.

[dules]

I guess, though, that I would say if it's this hard, then maybe they should do nothing at all? Or at least let the parents know what the holiday program will include and perhaps make it a discussion? If we had raised DD Jewish from Day 1 I would be beyond ticked off right now (as it is I find it unsettling that people see Santa as universal, and I was raised celebrating Christmas).

I had assumed that since they called it a "holiday" program and not a "Christmas" program, that more would be included (ETA or that it would be more neutral, as others have mentioned - Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, etc.).



Mary

[Beth568]

My DD's preschool solves this by singing only "winter" songs like Jingle Bells. They talk about all the fall/winter holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, etc but they don't promote any particular holiday. Of course, they also don't really do a holiday show.

We're in the same boat you are as an interfaith family. I find it extraordinarily unsettling that people really believe Santa is universal. That's just ignorant.

FWIW, I don't get bent out of shape if people say "Merry Christmas" or choose to simply say "Happy Holidays." I figure it's the Christmas season, and people are doing their best. But I do appreciate it if schools can at least consider that students have different ethnic and religious backgrounds. IMO, this is something to clear with parents first. I also appreciate the fact that our preschool doesn't really talk about Santa - just because there's enough fuss about toys and asking for stuff out there already. If they can avoid some of the "give me presents!" atmosphere at school, I'm really happy about that.

[ellies mom]

Personally, I'd rather see more groups included rather than focus on Santa but I know that some people are still going to complain. But even the "winter" songs really aren't universal since they are still about the Christmas season.

[nfowife]

I agree. We've gotten used to it since we live in the bible belt and there are a very small number of non-Christians here. I had the same reaction when I emailed ellabeebaby.com to see if they were going to have any Hanukkah shirts this year. Here is our exchange:
Me:Hi,
Are you going to have any Hanukkah designs this year? Thanks!

Them: Hi Margaret,
Thanks for contacting Ellabee Baby. No, I am afraid we won't be having any Hanukkah designs this year. We try to stay away from designs related to religion.

Me: But it's okay to have a ton of Christmas-y designs? How is that not religious? Oh well, thanks anyhow.

Them: The designs are based basically around Santa Claus, as to not offend any religion.

Me: That's fine, but you do know that Santa Claus is a symbol of Christmas, which is a Christian holiday. People who aren't Christian generally don't celebrate Christmas, Santa and all. So to me as a non-Christian, Santa= Christmas. If you did come up with a hanukkah/dreidel type of design, I'm sure you would sell a lot of them! Oh well.
Take care.


It does get annoying that people don't understand that although Santa is not part of the religious "birth of Jesus" Christmas, he is still part of Christmas, which is a Christian holiday. I know very few Jews (that are not in interfaith marriages) who celebrate the "Santa" part of Christmas- it just isn't our holiday. Just like we don't do the Easter Bunny, either!

[dules]

>
>It does get annoying that people don't understand that
>although Santa is not part of the religious "birth of Jesus"
>Christmas, he is still part of Christmas, which is a Christian
>holiday. I know very few Jews (that are not in interfaith
>marriages) who celebrate the "Santa" part of Christmas- it
>just isn't our holiday. Just like we don't do the Easter
>Bunny, either!
>

Exactly! DH's first "celebration" of Christmas was with me and my family, in his mid-20's. It just wasn't his family's holiday, and he didn't feel "deprived" in any way (lol). I think sometimes people truly can't fathom managing to grow up relatively untouched by the whole Christmas/Santa thing. When you stop to explain it or question it (like with DD's teachers) their reaction is "oh...yeah". Amazing.


Mary

[dules]

Tarah, how do you avoid it among family? Did you grow up without Santa or is it something you've instituted with DH and DC? We definitely separated the two growing up (my mom definitely put the emphasis on the birth of Jesus rather than on the man in the red suit) but I think I remember our Church had Santa visit a children's Christmas party etc..

I'm not picking on you, I'm just interested. :)

Mary

[cmdunn1972]

I can sorta see it both ways. I understand how a non-Christian would be offended, but I also see how Christians are sometimes bothered by Santa since it represents the secularization of the Christian holiday.

Interestingly, I did read an article (Wall Street Journal, I think) about 2 years ago about how Moslems in Turkey were into Santa. That said, they probably don't understand (or care) about the history behind Santa. (I've been told that Santa evolved from St. Nicholas, a Catholic saint.) The modernized version of St. Nick in the form of Santa Claus has most of the overt religious symbology removed, so I guess a few Moslems in Turkey don't seem to mind.

So, I can see it both ways.

[dules]

>FWIW, I don't get bent out of shape if people say "Merry
>Christmas" or choose to simply say "Happy Holidays." I figure
>it's the Christmas season, and people are doing their best.
>But I do appreciate it if schools can at least consider that
>students have different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
>IMO, this is something to clear with parents first. I also
>appreciate the fact that our preschool doesn't really talk
>about Santa - just because there's enough fuss about toys and
>asking for stuff out there already. If they can avoid some of
>the "give me presents!" atmosphere at school, I'm really happy
>about that.

Totally agree with you Beth. :) I'm perfectly happy being wished a Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc. - people are just trying to be nice, I wouldn't get all aggressive on them (lol). I think your last statement is part of what I find most disturbing about this program - they've chosen to focus on the one part of the entire season that I like least - the "give me" instead of the giving, the happiness, the joy of family and friends, etc.

OK I'm getting too vague. Sorry! And thanks!

Mary

[muskiesusan]

We are Catholic, however, last year Nick's walked around singing the Dreidel song, which also became one of the first songs Alex could hum. This year, he is singing a Ramadan song. At his school's holiday program, each class sings a different holiday song representing the various winter celebrations. I don't think it is that hard to be inclusive.

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[buddyleebaby]

I wouldn't have a problem with Santa songs, I guess because I have several friends who are not Christian and do have presents from Santa this time of year. One even puts up a "Chanukah Bush".

Still, they could throw in an equally non-religious Chanukah song, like dreidel, dreidel. Dreidels can be universal too!!!!

[Radosti]

Yup, DS's secular daycare (attached to my job) is also all Christmas-decked-out. I asked about Hanukkah and was met with "Ummm, well, we talk about all the religions." I gave up and bought them a book about Hanukkah to read with the kiddos.

I'm Jewish, married to a Catholic and we're raising DS Jewish. DH's mom refuses to accept that and has made sure to buy him a "Baby's 1st Christmas" bib last year and sent him a christmas card this year. I decided to be just as bad as her, so sent her a Happy Holiday's card with a picture of DS holding a giant dreidel. That should make my point.

The woman could care less about this grandchild all year long, but come Christmas, she doesn't want him to be deprived. Oy vey!!!

[emmiem]

Welcome to the December Dilemma. Christians tend to think christmas trees and santa are not religious symbols. Yes, trees started out as a pagan activity but it celebrates Christmas not Hanukkah. My girls don't even understand the whole Santa business. (Our whole family is Jewish although my DH converted several years ago) I do try to talk to the schools well before December but in my area which is not diverse in terms of religion,it is very difficult path to take and I am constantly educating everyone. There is no Hanukkah gift wrap or menorahs anywhere in town.

If they do not stick with Jingle Bells and other winter songs, my kids don't participate in the programs.

This is an interesting link. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Hanukkah/TO_Hanukkah_Themes/Wolfson_December_864.htm

Michele

[michellep]

>I think only really winter songs, like Jingle Bells, or
>Walking in a Winter Wonderland qualify as universal.

Unfortunately, that approach can get a public school sued! We're an interfaith family like others in this thread, and I've begun to detest the let's throw a little bit of this and that religion in approach to the season. I know hearts are in the right place and they're trying to be inclusive but it ends up feeling so forced. And you're mixing holidays of vital importance to one religion with minor holidays in others. And when do you decide you have everyone covered?

My son's current school gets it right in my book, but they're private so don't have to worry about church/state or state/lack of church issues. The school itself only officially celebrates seasons but they welcome all families to bring in their own traditions to share with the rest of the students. So his class celebrated the Hindu light festival a while back and it was beautiful because it came from another family who really celebrated the holiday, not some school administrator trying to check a religion off their list!

-M

[crl]

This discussion is really interesting to me. As far as I know, DS public preschool isn't doing anything holiday related. DS hasn't come home with Christmas crafts or singing songs. Of course, he's been out sick this week so what do I know?

Anyway, I've been vaguely contemplating trying to do something with Chinese New Year. I was thinking a book for the classroom, and an appropriate snack one day. DS was adopted from China--DH and I are not Chinese. There are Chinese families in the class (we live in SF).

I hadn't thought about offending others who don't celebrate Chinese New Year, but this thread raises that concern. . . .

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

[C99]

Is Chinese NY a religious celebration? Are there aspects of the holiday that are secular? I'd be surprised if you could offend people in SF w/ a celebration of Chinese NY, but I suppose it's possible.

[kaylinsmommy2]

I also thought it was very strange to only sing Santa/Christmas songs at DD's preschool holiday program. This year they also put up Chistmas decorations.

I personally like the idea of exposing DD to other religions, holidays, traditions, etc. So I'm not sure that I see why others would be upset if perschools included other holiday songs. Does that seem fair? I'm trying to think this through, but I'm not sure I understand.

I do understand that there is probably not an "easy" solution for everyone.

Caroline
mommy to Kaylin 6/5/04

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/bunbunadb20040605_-9_Kaylin+is+now.png[/img][/url]

and one on the way, due 2/26/07

[kaylinsmommy2]

I like the idea of introducing children to other ideas and traditions. I'd guess that Chinese NY is less of a concern because it's not secular. And I know my mom had no problem doing a Chinese NY thing in our schools. I think my mom brought red envelopes for each kid with a penny in it, brought egg tarts to eat, and we must have read a book or talked about something Chineset there. And we lived just outside of SF, if that helps.

Caroline
mommy to Kaylin 6/5/04

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/bunbunadb20040605_-9_Kaylin+is+now.png[/img][/url]

and one on the way, due 2/26/07

[psophia17]

People are dumb - Santa is definitely not universal as Santa Claus is a mispronunciation of the Dutch "Sint Nickolaas," aka "Sinterclaas," translated to Saint Nicholas. New York was originally a Dutch colony, and Sinterclaas came along with the settlers...Santa is a saint, for goodness sakes!

Through marketing, Santa has become secular. Who knew?

[cmdunn1972]

I would think Chinese NY isn't a threat, also. I'm guessing that the difference is that eastern religions tend to be non-proselytizing. It's not as if Chinese peole are out in droves trying to convert the world to Buddhism by sneaking Chinese NY through the back door. However, making semi-secular symbols of religious holidays ubiquitous in secular venues might seem sneaky to some.

[dules]

I'd like DD to be exposed to other cultures and faiths. I think doing something in school for Chinese NY is a great idea. What bothered me about the way DD's school is doing things is that all the crafts and decorations are Christmas (ornaments, Christmas trees, wreaths - not even snowflakes or snowmen, which seem like no-brainers to me)and the focus of the songs is Santa - so it's one-sided IMO. If it were either all neutral or very diverse, I'd be fine with it.

If I were you I'd ask DS's teacher, or just give her the book and see what she does.



Mary

[DrSally]

I agree that Santa isn't universal. It is hard, you can either be inclusive of all religions or try to stay neutral, which is very difficult too. What I don't like is people getting upset and thinking it's too "PC" and overboard to be sensitive about this. Well, maybe to them it is, but what about to other people from different religions? How would they feel if there was a Christian theme and their kids were Jewish or Muslim? No one wants to feel excluded, but sometimes it's hard for the majority to see how that could feel and they get all up in arms about everything going so overboard. I'm totally not saying anyone is doing that here, just my experience IRL. BTW, we were both raised Lutheran.

[crl]

Well, I am so not an expert in religion of any kind . . . . But Chinese New Year involves leaving food out for ancestors, etc. So I think I'd say it is at least partly a religious holiday.

Here's a link: http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html

Now, I wasn't thinking of having the kids leave food out for ancestors or anything. I was just thinking of a book on the holiday and a snack that included a traditional food (there are several).

Guess I'll just check with the school and if they are okay with it, hope I'm not offending any of the parents. (There are 28 kids in DS class so there's no real way for me to feel out all the parents.)

Thanks everyone!

[katiesmommy]

I totally understand about Santa not being universal, and I agree 100%. He's a Christian figure that symbolizes Christmas. That said, I have the mentality that it should be all or nothing. Meaning, if the schools are going to be teaching kids about Ramadan, Kwanza, Solstice, and the like, then shouldn't we also teach them about the birth of Jesus. Separation of Church and State says we can't to that, then why is it okay to teach them about other religious holidays.

It could just be me. Like I said, all or nothing.

[Hallie_D]

I feel your pain. We are one of the few Jewish families at our supposedly secular preschool. Normally this is not an issue, but this year the "Winter Program" is pretty much nothing but Christmas songs. Not just Santa songs--lots of songs about the meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, etc., and nothing about any other holiday. I'm trying not to let it bother me too much. To the teachers' credit, most of the classrooms have displays of all the winter holidays, but it is not reflected in the performance. For me one of the hardest things is that we've been asked to help our older son to learn the SIX Christmas songs he will be singing, and I haven't even ever heard three of them.

Also, so far this week we've received a painted Christmas tree, a glitter Christmas tree, and a glitter bell, and that's just the crafts that are ready to come home.

We've volunteered to come in with a menorah, latkes and dreidels, and the teachers have been very receptive.

[lizajane]

i feel very lucky that it is so easy for us. we are a christian family and our kids go to a christian preschool. it is at a church. (our church, in fact.) so i would really like for them to include information/songs/etc about others' traditions. but folks who sign up for our school know they are signing up for a christian education.

i wonder know if they are bringing up any other traditions, other than christmas. i may just have to ask!

[tny915]

I think your presentation will be okay due to the fact that you're in SF and that Chinese NY is such a big deal for the city and many of the residents. It's the new year for all cultures who base their calendars on the moon, so though most folks call it Chinese NY, it's really Lunar New Year. I don't consider it a religious holiday at all and I consider the leaving of food for the ancestors to be more a Buddhist practice than a tradition associated with Chinese NY. It's seen as associated because a lot of Chinese are Buddhists.

I grew up going to public school in SF and I remember we regularly had presentations on Chinese NY in elementary school. I know that since it's SF, anything can offend, but I really think you'll be okay. You'll be talking about a calendar, some food, maybe some red envelopes. You're presenting an aspect of a culture, not a religion.

[maestramommy]

Not sure if this is a bigger issue in preschool, but here's what happened at the 4-12 school I used to work at. We have people of all faiths, and every year we have a holiday concert, which is a big deal because all kids grades 4-6 participate, as well as all ensembles grades 7-12. The choirs sing a variety of songs, from Christmas (religious and secular) to Hannukah, to general peace on earth themes. I was the orchestra director and in general I stuck to Christmas, because that is the music that is published for school groups to play. I think one year I did find and do a Hannukah medley. None of the students or their parents appear to have a problem with the flavor of the concert, but there is an understanding that the school celebrates diversity so (for example) if you are Christian you can't refuse to sing Hannukah songs if you want to be in the choir. Of course, this is a private school, so we don't have the same constraints of public schools, which I understand are considerable, depending on region.

We are Christians, but since we also believe in public school I don't believe it's the school's responsibility to do things a certain way just so my religion isn't snubbed or completely secularized. Of course, it may be easier for me to feel this way as that generally doesn't happen with Christmas, but some things I hear from my sis who teaches K surprise me.

[kristenk]

I think I'm missing something. How does Tarah's statement about strictly-winter songs relate to public schools getting sued? Schools get sued if they try to avoid celebrating any religion? I don't understand.

I like the way your son's school handles celebrations. That sounds really nice.

[KBecks]

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!

Santa is absolutely about Christmas. People are nuts.

We are Catholic and I feel very uncomfortable with Santa -- we've decided to really minimize our Santa stuff, but not eliminate it entirely. I won't be getting the kids extra gifts from "Santa", and we'll only go talk to him, etc. etc. if they request it.

[KBecks]

You know, a kid knowing a Dreidel song and Ramadan song and a Christmas song sounds just fine to me.

[KBecks]

Good for you! Hope she gets the hint, but don't be surprised if she's "thick".

[emilyf]

DS's preschool is run by a Lutheran church, and they are very up front that it is a Christian program. They attend chapel every day and are having a traditional pageant with Mary and Joseph etc. Today, ds came home with a really neat menorah that he had made-there are several Jewish students in the group, so I imagine it was to respect their traditions but I also love that he is being exposed to other faiths. This is such a tough issue, and it is hard to do without offending anyone but I think a little communication and inclusiveness goes a long way. I agree that claiming Santa is universal is a cop-out.
Emily mom of Charlie born 11/02 and Zoe born 9/05

[nfowife]

I was a K,1, and 2 teacher for 6 years before I had DD. I taught at 4 different schools (love being a military wife!) and I was always the only Jewish person on the staff. So in general, I always did the Hanukkah stuff for my grade level. Often we would each plan 1-2 lessons/activities related to the holiday season (and we did Ramadan, Xmas, Diwali, and Hanukkah, at least, it depended on how many teachers there were) and then we would just rotate to everyone's class in the afternoon and do the lesson with them. It wasn't ideal but at least it exposed the kids to other holiday observances.
My last 2 years of teaching had a great setup (I was the team leader). We did a whole-year theme of "around the world in 180 days" and each month we learned about a different continent, integrated to meet our science and social studies benchmarks. We still did "Holidays around the world" in December, because it was a short month and there were 2 extra months in the school year that we had to make up themes for (the other month we did the Oceans) to fit our theme, but it went over really well with almost all the parents. I had a Jewish student one year, so her mom brought in latkes and showed the class the menorah and I did have a Christian parent make a comment to me about that (she happened to be there that day) to the effect of "Oh, if I knew they were going to do some Jewish religion lesson I would have put together something about the birth of Jesus". I just shrugged it off and she never mentioned it again. I do think it is hard for people who are not in the majority (Christians) to understand what it is like to be inundated by their beliefs, day in and day out- not only at the holidays- in many places in this country. When we were planning to build our house, we went to our builder's model home. In the house he had piped Christian music in all the rooms. And, in what was supposed to be the little girls room, there was a giant mural on the wall that said "Jesus is my king of kings and my Lord of Lords". Do Christians really want giant murals of that in their children's rooms? It was kind of weird for us!

[holliam]

Catherine, if you haven't considered it already, you must go to the SF Chinese New Year parade. It's well worth it to buy tickets ahead of time so you can sit in the stadium seats that line the street. One of the events we miss dearly about SF!

I have very strong feelings about the rest of the discussion so I'll zip my mouth :P

[oliviasmomma]

Santa is most definately not universal! I did not celebrate any holidays at all until I was 8 (long story...) and I had to tell many teachers and other people that no, I didn't believe in Santa. I am now Catholic, and of course celebrate holidays. We are going to do the Santa thing, I always thought I would, but now that the time is here it feels so unnatural. Anyway...

To tell you the truth, I really don't get why schools have to have holiday celebrations anyway. I can totally see how a Jewish or Muslim person (or Atheist) would not want their child to sing songs about the birth of Christ--even if it is fillowed by a song from their faith. The same goes for Santa, IMO. It seems like, in an effort to please everyone, no one is pleased. When complex belief systems are distilled into construction paper and glitter projects, I think much of the meaning is lost. I think it is easy for Christians to think that it is all just fun, but if your family does not believe in Christmas, it can actually be uncomfortable for the child--speaking from experience here. I was not allowed to participate in any of the Christmas/holiday celebrations at school which meant I spent a lot of time in the principle's office alone while other kids celebrated :( (Not saying that is the best thing for kids or that there wasn't another option there...) I guess I feel like it is my responsibility to provide celebrations for my daughter around our religion. Education about other cultures and religions is one thing, but including them in what is essentially an Christmas celebration in order to keep people from feeling left out doesn't seem to serve anyone.

[Melanie]

Oh that's awful that they actually THINK that. My stepfather got into a fight once, with Pinecrest (sub-par local chain of private schools in SoCal, IMHO and YMMV) b/c for Christmas they had Santa & Reindeer but nothing Christian, then for Hanukkah they had traditional religious items on display. He talked himself blue in the face trying to explain the religious holidays vs "American Holidays."

We're very fortunate at Ds' school that they celebrate various holidays and welcome any who celebrate other religions to come and share them with the class.

[Fairy]

Gotta love Chanaclause!

[Fairy]

Ok, so here's my input. Being Jewish, I grew up in a mostly Jewish/Christian (every flavor) area with bits of other cultures thrown in there. Tolerance was just a given. Black? Ok. Asian? Ok. Indian? Ok. Muslim? Ok. We learned about cultures of the world, and during the school holiday programs, we sang all manner of Christmas and Hannukah songs. There are lots of great ones out there of each religion that are lesser known (Haul out the Holly ... Who can Retell the Things that Befell us . . .). It was jsut my normal. To think that this is an issue now is just "ignorance is bliss" anathema to me.

I hope that when my little boy's school has their holiday program, they sing any Christmas song they want, Hannukah songs, and now in a more enlightened time (as time goes on, hopefully we always get more enlightened), I WANT to hear other cultures festive songs of the season.

I don't want to see religious icons on gov't property (including my own religion's), but I do want to hear my child sing songs of all cultures and by so doing, partake in yet one more way to celebrate diversity.

[cmdunn1972]

I hear ya. Since religion is one (of many) aspects of a culture, it seems easy enough to include holiday songs (from various holidays) as a part of a cultural studies lesson for social studies class. IMO, we're actually doing our children an educational disservice by completely ignoring religion since it is such a pervasive part of culture. I can understand that we don't want to cross the line and create the impression of a state religion, but we shouldn't be so afraid to discuss religion (as a part of culture) in the classroom that we leave our children ignorant of worldviews different from their own.

[crl]

Holli,
Thanks for the tip!
Catherine

[crl]

I think it is great that you are going to bring the menorah, etc in. IMO, it is really generous of you to make this an opportunity to share your religion and traditions.

[tarahsolazy]

I am a rare person who never believed in Santa as a kid. My mom said they tried it, but by age 3 my twin and I realized that it was my folks! We still got presents on Christmas morning, unwrapped, but they were from Mom and Dad. So, I don't remember Santa as a part of my childhood. Of course, Santa is all over, but I guess he was always a fictional character, like Rudolph or Frosty. Christmas is about Christ, and about light coming back into the world (the Solstice/pagan thing), and I really like those parts. I hate the commercialism. So, I have no intention of ever telling my son that a fat guy in a red suit is going to bring him presents if he meets some behavior standard for some unspecified time before the holiday, LOL.

The idea of perpetuating the idea that Santa is real to my son makes me queasy. We can play Santa, if he wants to, but it will be clear that its a game!

I wish the schools could just teach all the holidays, the religous or REAL parts of them. Tell the kids about the miracle of the light of Hanukah (sp, sorry!), tell them about the fast of Ramadan, explain Diwali and its lights, Kwanzaa, etc. Its just a world culture and religion lesson, and I want my kid to know all of that! And kicky songs would be even cooler.