Christmas Around the World: Lesson Plans

🎄 It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Whether you are putting stockings out for Santa Claus, shoes outside for the Three Wise Men or getting ready for the Year of the Snake and the Lunar New Year, this is a time to down tools, spend time with family and eat too much!

How do different countries celebrate at this time of year?

In Spain, the day of the Three Kings continues to be the bigger and more popular holiday. Los Reyes Magos – known as the Three Wise Men, or Three Kings in English – are the three men who followed the North Star to the town of Bethlehem to welcome baby Jesus into the world with gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.  This is the reason that, in Spain, For this reason, it’s not Jesus or Santa that brings gifts – it’s the Three Kings!

On the evening of January 5th, everyone takes to the streets to celebrate the arrival of the kings. Children and their families line the streets to enjoy the parade (cabalgata), waiting with excitement to get a peek at the men who will be delivering their presents that night.  Los Reyes Magos love sweets just as much as children do. So when they arrive home from the parade, kids will leave out plates of treats for the kings. And for the camels – they leave out dry hay or straw.

On the morning of January 6th, children typically open the presents left by the Kings. But only if they’ve been good – if they’ve been naughty, they receive coal! Traditionally, children leave out their shoes and this is where the Kings leave the presents.

Let’s not forget the most important part! The roscón de Reyes is a ring-shaped cake eaten on Three Kings Day. It’s usually like a sweet bread cake and can be plain or filled with cream. The dried fruits that top the cake represent the jewels on the Kings’ crowns.

The roscón holds two secrets: a dried fava bean and a small figurine of a king or a baby Jesus. Whoever finds the small figurine is pronounced king or queen of the feast and will have luck all the next year. They will also wear the paper crown that comes with the roscón. He or she who finds the bean has to pay for the roscón next year.

Click to download a Feliz Navidad Lesson Plan.

Christmas in France is all about family, friends, and food. The season officially starts on December 6 with a visit from St. Nicholas — who arrives with a donkey carrying treat-filled baskets, a tradition still re-enacted in some villages. Over the centuries, the French merged St. Nicholas with Father Christmas to get Père Noël. On December 25, Père Noël travels in the company of Père Fouettard, (which translates as The Whipping Father) who dispenses lumps of coal and has a stick to give spankings to the naughty children! French children leave their shoes or slippers by the fireplace or under the Christmas tree, in the hope that Father Christmas will fill them with presents.

In France, Christmas Eve dinner is the most important celebration time. Families gather for a very special meal and, depending on the family, children either go to bed before midnight and open their presents on Christmas morning or children wait until midnight, hide so Santa doesn’t see them and then open their presents.

Click to download a Joyeux Noel Lesson Plan

Chinese New Year is a major holiday in China and Chinese communities throughout the world. The starting date of the Lunar New Year is not the same each year because it is based on the cycles of the Moon. It begins in late January or early February. The 15-day celebration begins with the new moon and lasts until the full moon. 2025 will see the start of the Year of the Snake.

In Chinese communities, firecrackers are often shot off on New Year’s Eve. Fireworks celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. Chinese New Year is a time to feast and to visit family members.

The last event of the 15-day celebration is the Lantern Festival. People often hang glowing lanterns in temples or carry them during a nighttime parade. The dragon dance highlights festival celebrations in many areas. A long, colourful dragon is carried through streets by numerous dancers.

So, the end of term is in sight!! And the celebrations are not too far away!!

If you are looking for inspiration for the last few lessons, please download the free PowerPoint resources here.

Remember to take time for yourself, relax and re-energise ready for 2025. I am launching Languages Unleashed in the new year so things will be very exciting for me – let’s hope 2025 brings everyone much good fortune and success!

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année !

¡Feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo!

Xīnnián kuàilè!