Observing The Holiday Celebrations Of Your Foster Child

For most of us, the holiday season is filled with comfort and joy, but for children and teens in foster care, it can be a difficult time. Creating positive memories as a foster family helps to ease some of the pain your young one may be experiencing this winter, whether from past neglect and trauma, or from simply missing biological parents and siblings. In addition to merry festivities and bonding over new traditions, it is also important to observe the holiday celebrations of your foster child. Here is a list of six winter holidays (in order of calendar appearance) to help you learn more.

Diwali

Diwali is a five-day Festival of Lights celebrated during the Hindu lunar month of Kartika (October 21st through November 19th), and it is one of the biggest holidays in India. While rooted in religious tradition, people of varying faiths celebrate Diwali by lighting oil lamps and hanging strings of twinkling lights around the home. This is done to symbolize the victory of light over darkness.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah is an eight-day Festival of Lights that reaffirms the ideals of Judaism and commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. The Hebrew calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the dates of Hanukkah (and other Jewish holidays) will be slightly different each year. Celebrations include lighting the Hanukkah candles, playing dreidel, giving gifts, and making potato latkes and jelly donuts (Sufganiyot).

Christmas

Christians celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus each December. Traditions include decking the halls, singing Christmas carols, baking cookies, attending church services, feasting, and spending time together as a family. Children participate in Christmas pageants, and during this magical season, they also write letters to the North Pole and visit Santa Claus for photos. On Christmas morning, December 25th, they find festively wrapped gifts and toys under the tree waiting just for them.

Las Posadas

Many Latin American families in the United States celebrate Las Posadas from December 16th through December 24st. This nine-day religious celebration leads up to Christmas and commemorates the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Las Posadas observances often include gifts, pinatas, music, scripture readings, and prayer. Children may also lead a procession dressed as angels in silver and gold robes.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday that celebrates African culture through seven principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). Kwanzaa begins on December 26th and ends on January 1st. Festivities often include gifts, lighting candles, and performing/listening to traditional African stories and music. On the 31st, a big feast called Karamu is held.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, each new year is marked by the characteristics of one of 12 zodiac animals: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In 2022, this 15-day celebration will begin on February 1st. Chinese New Year is centered on family and food, and customs include paper lanterns and dancing dragon performances. Children are given red envelopes with money for good luck.

Fostering is the best gift you could ever give to a child in need of care and a place to call home, and there is no better way to comfort your foster child and show they are valued than by honoring their culture and unique holiday celebrations. For more information on how to become a foster parent in the state of Illinois, visit our website or contact Camelot Care Centers today.

Every child needs and deserves to grow up safe and protected from abuse and neglect, and caring foster parents offer children support and stability when they need it most. At Camelot Care Centers, we specialize in higher-level foster care for children and adolescents that need extra support. We partner with our foster parents/homes to provide trauma informed care and additional services, including in-home counseling, parent support and training, tele-psychiatry, and therapeutic mentoring, to maintain children at the least restrictive, yet most appropriate level of care. Camelot Care Centers (“Camelot”) is a Child Welfare Agency.