Winter Holidays Around the World (Printable & Booklist)
This is the time of the year when you can relax your homeschool expectations and do things like bake cookies, do holiday crafts, and have fun with your lessons. Some great lessons you can teach your kids centers on winter holidays around the world!
Winter Holidays around the World Printable
One of my favorite parts of the holiday season involves storytime. I love reading Christmas stories with my kids, and I love that we can learn together about so many other traditions and religions by reading stories about winter holidays in various parts of the world.
We’ve got a terrific book list below with great stories about how Christmas, Hanukkah, and other winter holidays are celebrated worldwide.
(I especially love the books by Tomie dePaola. You’ll see that the top storybook on the list is his book about the legend of the poinsettia; if you want to do an entire activity with your kids centered on that book, check out this Legend of the Poinsettia Art Activity.)
Before you head on down to the book list, make sure you click the link below for an educational printable on how the holidays are celebrated in countries including France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Mexico, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, and many more!
Also, if you want to round out your education on winter holidays with some cooking, you’ll love this Christmas Around the World Cookbook for Kids free printable.
The Best Book on Winter Holidays and Celebrations Worldwide
Children Just Like Me: Celebrations
If you get just one book for your studies, this is the one to pick up. It’s simple enough for an elementary student to enjoy independently, but it’s packed with facts and beautiful images.
(Actually, check out the entire series, they are ALL fabulous books: A Life Like Mine, A School Like Mine, Children Just Like Me, and A Faith Like Mine.)
You’ll also need a general atlas, which will give information on population, language spoken, and religious traditions.
14 Books about winter holidays around the world
It was hard to narrow this list down, as there are so many great holiday storybooks! These are picture books that you can read aloud with younger kids, or even have young readers practice reading aloud to you. These books can be read in a single sitting.
The Legend of Old Befana: An Italian Christmas Story
If you’d like some longer books to read together over a few days or just to have more reading material on hand for avid young readers in your household, check out 10 Surprising Christmas Tales You Need to Read This Year.
More Activities on Winter Holidays Around the World
Here are a few more ideas on how to teach your kids about the ways Christmas and other winter holidays are celebrated around the world.
- Learn about the traditional winter and holiday music of various countries.
- 30 Days of Christmas Picture Books also gives you a great holiday book list for your whole family.
- Do a unity study on Christmas art worldwide and in a historical context.
- Learn How to Say Merry Christmas in 14 Languages
- 7 Fun Ways to Use A Christmas Carol for Holiday Learning
- Lastly, here are some fun Christmas Eve Tradition ideas for your family.
Have a wonderful time this season learning about the winter holidays practiced around the world! Maybe your family will decide to adopt a few for your own holiday traditions.