In a bid to make fourth graders more aware of the larger world and how values and culture can vary from nation to nation a teacher does a thematic unit on Christmas around the world. Snacks, gifting traditions, and stories and studied from the three wise man and their camels to a towering old Father Christmas and Black Pete. For many this is a delightful lesson. This author especially loves the stories and was assigned to man the wassel table at the traditions fair that concluded the assignment.
But despite the best efforts of the teachers some traditions were never mentioned. Or possibly because of the best efforts of the teachers in a small rural town full of goats and straw some traditions were never mentioned in front of impressionable and creative fourth graders.
Take the Gavle Goat for instance. Since 1966 the residents of the rural town of Gavle has done their level best to build and maintain a giant Christmas goat of straw...it is Sweden...go figure. And since 1966 other residents have carried out the tradition of burning the goat down. It has been fireproofed with chemical retardants, water and ice, webcams, and fences but 27 times the Gavle Christmas Goat has burned to the ground. By the time that you have Santa and his Gingerbread men shooting flaming arrows into a tradition you really just have to roll with it.
Fourth grade me would have found this tradition very interesting.
But despite the best efforts of the teachers some traditions were never mentioned. Or possibly because of the best efforts of the teachers in a small rural town full of goats and straw some traditions were never mentioned in front of impressionable and creative fourth graders.
Take the Gavle Goat for instance. Since 1966 the residents of the rural town of Gavle has done their level best to build and maintain a giant Christmas goat of straw...it is Sweden...go figure. And since 1966 other residents have carried out the tradition of burning the goat down. It has been fireproofed with chemical retardants, water and ice, webcams, and fences but 27 times the Gavle Christmas Goat has burned to the ground. By the time that you have Santa and his Gingerbread men shooting flaming arrows into a tradition you really just have to roll with it.
Fourth grade me would have found this tradition very interesting.
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