100th Day of School - Lots of kids are counting the days they go to school--it's because they want to be sure not to miss the 100th day! Teachers and kids are celebrating the 100th day of school in lots of special ways; read about them at this site and its links. For example, each child might bring in 100 pennies to donate to charity. The school nurse might collect 100 healthy handprints, finger painted on a big sheet of paper outside the office. Kids could try to dance for 100 seconds, or (even harder) be quiet for 100 seconds. Some kids like to draw pictures of what they will look like when they are 100 years old! The possibilities are endless--get started at this site.
Activities for Kids - Find great holiday ideas and links at Activities for Kids.
April Fool's Day (April 1) - How did the tradition of April Fool's Day begin? According to this page, it was all because of a calendar change decreed by Pope Gregory in 1562. All of a sudden, New Year's Day was celebrated at a new time of year--it took a while for word to get around (there was no such thing as the Internet then). People still celebrating the New Year on April 1 were fools indeed. Find out more at this site.
Billy Bear's on Holiday - Billy Bear offers special sites for more than ten fun holidays. Each one has games, activities, and facts about the holiday that may be new to you. If we don't have a separate listing for a holiday in this book, check with Billy Bear. Net-mom loves Billy Bear because he gives such great bear hugs!
Calendar of Jewish Holidays - This resource, offered by B'nai B'rith, gives the dates for all important Jewish holidays through the year 2006. Mark your calendars in advance.
Chanukkah '99 - Learn about Chanukah, light a menorah, celebrate the Jewish Year on VJ's Chanukah Site!
Chinese Holidays & Festivals - June 1 is when China celebrates its Children's Day. Kids are showered with presents, and their schools give them big parties. Sound like fun? Read about this and more Chinese traditions here.
Chinese New Year - This is a really interesting site that describes the Chinese calendar system. The Chinese calendar has 24 solar terms closely related to the changes of Nature--a very useful tool for farmers, providing knowledge on the proper time for planting and harvesting.
CNN - Groundhog Quartet Agrees on Early Spring - Punxsutawney Phil, the granddad of all weather-predicting groundhogs, was the lead rodent in this CNN report on weather-predicting animals. A cult hero of sorts, Phil has been making news with his February 2 shadows for many years. There are others in the field--and you can "read all about them" right here.
Day of the Dead - In November, Mexicans celebrate the annual Day of the Dead. It's not a sad occasion. They make special foods and prepare a feast to honor their ancestors. They have picnics on their relatives' graves so the dead can join in the festivities, too. One of the special foods is called "Bread of the Dead" (pan de muerto). The baker hides a plastic skeleton in each rounded loaf, and it's good luck to bite into the piece with the skeleton! People also give each other candy skeletons, skulls, and other treats with a death design. The holiday has complex social, religious, and cultural meanings. Learn more about this celebration here.
Day of the Dead - Dia de los Muertos - Learn many of the traditions and rituals surrounding this Mexican holiday, when the dead pay a visit to their old homes and are welcomed with special foods and festivities. This site has a rich section with links to explore, but parents should note that we didn't get to look at all of them.
Festivals & Culture (Keeping Faith with the Past) - Learn the traditions of the Taiwanese Dragon Boat Festival, the Birthday of the Goddess of the Sea, and the Lantern Festival, among many others. You'll also read a bit about Chinese knots, rice-dough figures and candy sculpture, and lion dances.
Festivals Home Page - Somewhere at this site is a European, Chinese, or New Zealand holiday or festival for every occasion. In Austria during February, they prepare for a carnival. All people dress up as "some thing" (ghosts, clowns, witches). There's also a carnival parade. In Sweden, crayfish parties are very popular in August. You can celebrate the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand on February 6, and in China, Spring Festival is on the lunar new year. On the eve of the Spring Festival, everyone leaves their lights on all night long in order to drive away ghosts. It is said that ghosts are scared of the light. You can see at least one red lantern hanging from every family's roof.
Festivals.com - Parental advisory: Please preview this site. Festivals.com offers a fascinating look at more than 26,000 seasonal celebrations around the world. Click on any area of the Big Map and search for festivals there. You can even add information on festivals in your area. You'll find lots of features and fun, but we haven't looked at everything on the site, so browse with care.
Guy Fawkes Day - On November 5, people in the United Kingdom gather around roaring bonfires and burn a "guy" in effigy. What's it all about? You can find out at this nicely designed page, but the short form is that Guy Fawkes and others tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament back in 1601. It was because they were really mad at the king. The plot was discovered in time--or were Fawkes and the others framed?
Happy Chinese New Year - The Chinese calendar is based both on the Gregorian and a lunar-solar system. It divides a year into 12 months, each with 39 1/2 days. Twenty-four poetic solar terms describe seasonal changes, including the Beginning of Spring, the Waking of Insects, Grain in Ear, Frost's Descent, and Great Cold. There is also a system that names the years in a 12-year cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. Find out how the Chinese New Year is celebrated.
Heather's Happy Holidaze for Kids Only - Heather is only nine, and she came up with the concept and design of this neat home page all by herself! With a little help from her dad and mom, it's been up and running since September 1995. Pictures go with each of her favorite holidays, so children of all ages can enjoy this site. You'll find scary Halloween links and a search for Tom Turkey for Thanksgiving, but jump around and visit all of the holidays for additional fun.
Holidays Around the World - From Christmas and Hanukkah to Our Lady of Guadelupe Day in Mexico, Guy Fawkes Day in the United Kingdom, and New Year's Eve, November and December are full of revelry, celebration, and solemn religious occasions.
Holidays with the Mousepad - Have fun with the e-cards, coloring pages, graphics, virtual pets, and much more for all of your favorite holidays! If a window pops up asking for a username and password, enter abc for the username and 123 for the password. Have fun!
Illustrated Tour of the Holy Days - Here is a great site to learn about art, history, and the Jewish holidays, all rolled into one. The Ben Uri Art Gallery holds a collection of over 800 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture by Jewish artists--selections from which are shown regularly in the gallery in London, England. The first two art selections show the Shabbat, the Hebrew word for Sabbath, which begins at sundown each Friday. Because the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar calendar (cycles of the moon), the new "day" begins at this time. Rosh Hashanah, the Hebrew phrase for the "Head of the Year," is the Jewish New Year celebration, and so our illustrated tour begins with this holiday in September. Continue through the gallery and the months of the year, to learn more about the other Jewish holy days and festivals and the food, songs, and dances that are part of these traditional celebrations.
International Day of Peace at the United Nations - As part of the United Nations International Day of Peace (September 16), kids from all over the world have collaborated on a "Peace Poem." Over 400 schools in 38 countries participated in the project. Each grade in each school could submit only one poem. Parts of the poem are in French and Spanish as well as English. If you could write just two lines describing your feelings about peace, what would they be?
John Muir Day Exhibit and Study Guide (Sierra Club) - Every April 21, students in California celebrate the life of John Muir and his contribution to conservation and appreciation of the environment. He founded the Sierra Club and pushed the U.S. government to establish the national parks system. Yosemite, designated a national park in 1890, is located in California. There is also a biography of Muir and accounts of his travels around the world.
Juneteenth: Freedom Revisited - Celebrate freedom! African Americans recall June 19, 1865, as the date when many slaves in the state of Texas learned that they had been freed, over two years earlier, by President Abraham Lincoln. This celebration is known as Juneteenth, and it is usually marked by historical displays, feasts, songs, and dancing. Learn about the origins of Juneteenth at the Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C.
Kid's Domain Summer Fun - This is a must-see site for all families looking for some summer fun!! Lots of games and pictures to color, software downloads, clip art, and a list of links to similar sites.
KIDPROJ'S Multi-Cultural Calendar - Around the world, every day is a holiday somewhere, and kids just like you are celebrating something. Now kids have a place to tell the rest of the world about their holiday foods, decorations, parades, songs, and other ways they make this day special from all the others. You can look at the holidays by month, by country, or by name. Do you have a special holiday you want to talk about? Add it here!
Kids Domain Fall Fun - This fun site contains fun activities on fall holidays with pictures, printables, icons, clip art, and crafts.
Kids Domain Holidays - Discover everything holiday! This site has fun games, coloring book pages, puzzles, and much more for all of your favorite days!
Kids Domain Winter Fun - Contains downloadable programs for winter holidays, mazes, word searches, coloring pages, and 3 fun craft projects for kids.
LHJ Online - Gift Wrapping 101 - Make your gifts extra-special with tips from LHJ's contributing stylist Michael Foster. Michael will show you on video his favorite gift-wrapping tricks and techniques, including how to make the perfect bow and several simple and timesaving suggestions, ideal for that last-minute gift rush.
Ridiculously Enhanced Pi Page - Every March 14, at 1:59 P.M., the Exploratorium museum celebrates Pi Day. Get it? The value of pi to a few decimal places is 3.14159. This irrational celebration happens to coincide with Albert Einstein's birthday. Read about the ceremonial addition of a pi bead to the strand (they are up to 1,600 decimal places) and other events that make San Francisco a unique place to live. There are also plenty of links to places where pi is elevated to new heights of acclaim by its many fans around the world.
SpringTime Fun at Kids Domain - Whether you're looking for springtime clip art, ideas for easy-to-make crafts, or online games with seasonal themes, you'll find what you seek at Kids Domain. In "Gopher Hide n Seek" you'll have to remember the order in which the gophers appear. Let's see, was it stump-hole-tree-tree or the other way around? How many rounds can you play until you miss? Very little children will enjoy "Decorate a Butterfly," while older ones might prefer "Catch the Wubblies" or "Don's Dugout" for more of a challenge.
Story Creations - This is a great place for you and your child to spend some time. Story Creations and personalized letters are customized with your child's name. Just choose a story or letter and answer a few short questions. When you click on the "submit" button, your Story Creation or personalized letter will appear on your screen, complete with illustrations. Don't forget to print out your Story Creation when you're done. You may want to keep all your personalized stories in a binder.
The Great American Egg Hunt - If it's around Easter when you're reading this, Net-mom's friend, Hazel Jobe, is no doubt running another virtual egg hunt. It's aimed at K-3 students, but anyone can play. Students have designed colorful eggs that have been hidden on school sites around the World Wide Web. Hazel says, "Participants will visit the school sites to hunt for the egg and then follow the link to answer the questions. It will give these young students practice navigating the Web for a purpose. Participants will receive a certificate when they have found all the eggs and answered all the questions." You can also win great prizes!
The Official Punxsutawney Phil Groundhog Site! - Long before we had weather satellites, Doppler radar, and the Weather Channel, we got our winter weather forecasts from a rodent. Yes, it's part of what has made America great, and the tradition continues in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Now you can get up close and personal with Punxsutawney Phil, groundhog extraordinaire. Some may call him a woodchuck, and some may call him a gopher. We call him a great publicity stunt, but we always pay attention to his predictions for an early or late spring. As the legend goes, if Phil comes up out of his hole on February 2 and sees his shadow, he'll be frightened back for six more weeks of winter; if, on the other hand, it's cloudy, we'll get an early spring. Will he see his shadow? Film at 11!
The Worldwide Holiday & Festival Site - The United States celebrates its birthday on July 4. There are parades, picnics, and at night--fireworks. Most countries celebrate national holidays that are their equivalents of the American Independence Day. You'll find a searchable list of many national and religious holidays here.
Today in History - Want to know who shares your birthday or what famous events throughout history happened the day you were born? Just visit this site and type in the month and year you want. For example, famous people born on February 8 include author Jules Verne, actor James Dean, and actress Audrey Meadows, who played Alice in The Honeymooners . Find out when and where these folks were born, too; Meadows, for example, was born in China. You can also find out who died on this day (Mary, Queen of Scots) and find out what important historical events took place. On February 8, the Boy Scouts organization was incorporated (1910), radio first came to the White House (1922), and Walt Disney Studios was formed (1926). Know anyone with a brand-new baby? Give the proud parents a printout of their baby's birth date.
Wiarton Willie Home Page - Lest you think Canadians don't have a weather rodent (en Francais, m t o marmotte) of their own, meet Wee Willie, an albino marmot. Son of the lately departed Wiarton Willie, Wee Willie stands poised to pick up the weather forecasting duties where his dad left off: "Born on the 45th parallel, exactly midway between the Equator and the North Pole, this white groundhog has the uncanny ability to signal the end of winter. Weather watchers around the world look to Willie's shadow and its 90 percent accuracy rate to see just how long winter is going to continue!" You can even send him e-mail (he must have a modem in his burrow). Come join the fun in southwestern Ontario on Lake Huron.
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