Family
Family Relationship
Household Chores
Family Traditions
Interesting Parenting Traditions from Different Cultures
By Amy Turn Sharp of Doobleh-vay
Traditions in families can be so powerful for both parents and children as we strive to make beautiful deliberate motions that string together our days and give memories that last our whole lives.
Parents everywhere choose tradition to enrich their family’s lives. We find the ceremony of everyday through religious and cultural traditions. Ritual binds us together as parents and makes us keenly aware that we are all more alike than different.
Here are some interesting parenting traditions from around the world:
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Pacifier Tree Tradition Saying goodbye to the pacifier can be hard for a child. But parents in Denmark found a wonderful solution for this problem.At the children’s park there are special trees where kiddos can hang their pacifiers as a ceremonial way to say goodbye.
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Tooth Fairy Traditions When American children lose one of their baby teeth, they put it under their pillow for the Tooth Fairy to come and replace it with some money. But in some Asian countries like India, China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam kids throw their teeth on the roof of the house or even under the floor. As the tooth-losing kid throws the tooth, he or she yells out a wish that the missing tooth be replaced by the tooth of a mouse.
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Baby’s 100 Day Celebration Chinese families have a very lovely tradition called the 100 days ceremony where they celebrate the first 100 days of a child’s life. I suspect this roots in the issue of infant mortality rates and is meant even today to give thanks for the safe keeping of a child.
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Baby’s First Birthday Korean child’s first birthday is celebrated with a large feast and offerings to the gods and goddesses. Parents give the baby a basket with assorted items such as toys, pens, books, food, and tools. The tradition says that the item for which the baby reaches will have some bearing on his/her future.
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Naming Celebrations Greek families also have a wonderful tradition surrounding birthdays in which they also have name day rituals. Name days celebrate the day of the saint that bears the same name as you. It is a traditional feast day, but in contemporary times more like a small party and ritual. The person is treated special, but the saint is also treated with festivals or lighting of candles in churches. How lucky to have two days a year to celebrate like this?
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First Day of School On the first day of school, German kids receive large paper cones called Schultute filled with school supplies and treats. It is like getting a Christmas stocking on the first day of school! How fun!In Russia children ring bells called “First bells” on the first day of school!
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Coming of Age Traditions The Navajo Indians have a celebration called kinaalda. Girls run footraces and compete in trials to show power and strength in womanhood. The girls who experience their first menstruation wear special clothes and style their hair like the Navajo goddess “Changing Woman.”
Useful Links
Listening comprehension
http://www.passporttoenglish.com/Beginning-English/Lesson5/Listening.html
http://www.esl-lab.com/family1/fam1.htm
http://www.adelescorner.org/listening/my_family/my_family.html
Reading
http://www.excellentesl4u.com/esl-family-members-reading.html
http://www.excellentesl4u.com/esl-cooking-reading.html
Grammar
https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/english-level-test/grammar
