Around The World At The Wesley Learning Center

By Larissa Lytwyn

Wesley Learning Center recently held a multicultural-themed holiday celebration, weaving holiday foods and traditions from countries including Germany, Norway, England, Italy, Ireland, the Ukraine, Russia, and the Netherlands.

Hanukkah was also commemorated with “edible dreidels” made from chocolate.

“The students and staff spent about a month making all the foods for each country,” said Wesley Learning Center activities coordinator Randi Rote.

Information about each holiday tradition was also displayed on each country’s table. A Christmas tradition in Norway, for example, is to eat grud, a kind of creamy rice pudding. A nut is hidden in one of the bowls. Whoever has the nut wins a piece of candy molded into the shape of a pig.

British children enjoy pulling each end of a “cracker,” a colored paper tube filled with a party hat or other small toy. It releases a loud “crack” as its contents are dispersed.

Ukrainian Christmas trees are decorated with silvery spider web ornaments, based on the legend of an impoverished woman who had nothing to put on her children’s Christmas tree. On Christmas morning, however, the tree branches were covered with spider webs. When the sun rose, they turned to silver. She was no longer poor in material things or spirit.

Germany is home of the traditional Christmas gingerbread cookies and house.

“This was the first time we had this multicultural theme,” said Ms Rote. “It’s been a wonderfully fun and informative activity!”