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December is a time of celebration. It is a celebration of family, food, tradition and religious beliefs. Unfortunately, celebrating our religious beliefs can bring undue stress to others, especially in the classroom. How do you celebrate the holidays without leaving some of your students out? How do you avoid possible embarrassment of one child? If you have any of these worries, the Anti-Defamation has a few tips to ease the stress of the holidays in your classroom.

Make sure your students know that it is okay to not participate in activities involving the holidays, especially since many religions do not celebrate holidays. For this reason, do not ask children to explain their own religious practices or observances and do not ask them to bring religious objects to class as a basis of discussion. Also, be aware that many activities that are tradition to many are very foreign to others.  For example, avoid writing letters to Santa as this may be uncomfortable for the non-Christian child.

When presenting certain cultures and their practices in your classroom you also want to avoid stereotyping. Although many actions begin with good intentions, they often present a group in a misconstrued way. Multicultural activities should not present a culture only in terms of its holiday practices. Instead of focusing on practices and food, which the Anti-Defamation League labels as the “tourist approach,” try to connect the holiday with the people who celebrate it to reveal historical relevance and the culture of its people. This may help you to avoid holiday customs that incorporate stereotypes.

For those who are worried that holiday celebrations may violate the First Amendment mandate of separation-of-church-and-state, here are a few tips to help. Obviously joint celebrations, such as a Christmas-Chanukah party do not work, as they do not avoid a religious observance and also may pit the two against each other, taking away from the significance of both.  Inviting religious leaders into your classroom is also a cumbersome and time-consuming solution. The best way to create a global celebration is to use religious symbols as a teaching tool. Using a cross, menorah, Star of David, the Buddha, crescent and various Native American symbols as educational examples of culture and religious heritage are a good way to teach children. Always avoid using them as decorations.

When confronted by a number of religious traditions, try to find common themes. For example, many religions celebrate light or have some sort of festival of lights. These include Chanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Also, take notice that many holidays celebrate liberation such as the Fourth of July, Passover, Cinco de Mayo and Martin Luther King’s Birthday. If you can find a way to connect holidays all year round you may show that all holidays are a valid way to express pride of culture and religion.