Christmas Curriculum

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… How much do you agree with Andy William’s timeless Christmas song? Besides gift-giving and family dinners, let’s celebrate this season by knowing the history and significance of Christmas and its traditions using this curriculum pack. 

See the fact file below for more information on putting together a Christmas Curriculum, or you can download our 14-page Christmas Curriculum pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Short video explainer

• Before we start, watch a short and simple video explainer about the Amazing history of Christmas found in the PDF download.

What to Consider

• Contextualization – The origins and traditions related to Christmas were products of the time. It is crucial to note the existence and significance of ancient cultures that observe festivities during solstices and how early Christianity spread its influence and practiced acculturation. Understanding the context of the season’s origins and developments would guide our learners to have a profound comprehension of the traditions they observe today. 
• Multiculturalism and Inclusivity – Despite its name Christmas (from Christ’s Mass), the contemporary celebration is not limited to Christians. Today, Christmas is both a religious and a secular holiday celebrated worldwide, crossing the boundaries of culture. Moreover, Christmas traditions vary around the world. 
• Related observances – Our lesson about Christmas may encompass other winter holidays many cultures observe today, such as Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Yule, Soyal, and Kwanzaa.  
• Values – Let our learners appreciate that amidst the evolution of and differences in celebrating Christmas, the season always reminds everybody of the values of love, joy, and togetherness. 

How to deliver

• Going back to school and starting a new lesson following Thanksgiving may be challenging. Do not worry! We can continue the holiday spirit until the end of the year by teaching about Christmas, its origins, traditions, and contemporary celebrations. 
• According to the Statista Research Department (2021), Christmas ranks 2nd as the most popular holiday in the United States following Thanksgiving. So, how did it become popular with both Christians and non-Christians?
• First, let us start with what our learners know about Christmas. One of the classic ways to monitor learning is through a KWL chart. K is for ‘What I know,’ W for ‘What I want to know,’ and L for ‘What I learned.’ For ‘K’, let our learners write on the board or a Google jamboard what they know about Christmas. This activity is a great jump start to make meaning of their experiences during Christmas. The sample board can be found in the PDF download.
• After gathering the learners’ schema of Christmas, let’s make meaning of the terms. For example, highlight ‘Jesus’ and ‘winter’ and then begin with the most known origin of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and the ancient pagan cultures. It is important to note to our learners that the most popular holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas, are based on stories and traditions passed in time. 
• Storytelling is a proven effective strategy to entice our learners’ interest. A great storyteller must bridge the gap between the speaker and the audience and feed their curiosity. Using the terms highlighted, we can connect the Christian and non-Christian (or the Roman and pagan cultures) origins of Christmas. Let’s use a simple timeline to show the development of celebrating Christmas from a Christian and non-Christian perspective. 
• The timeline (in the PDF download) is also a visual representation of the influence and power of the Church in building the Christian world. By creating and institutionalizing a counter-cultural event (birth of Jesus) with popular pagan festivals, ancient traditions were gradually Christianized. Another strong manifestation of such influence is the Julian and Gregorian calendars, which used BC and AD. It was only in the 18th century that Jewish academicians introduced the more secular BCE and CE on the grounds of religious neutrality. 
• A more learner-centered activity is to hold a debate. Aside from giving a motion on which Christmas origin is more influential today, we can gamify learning by awarding badges and points. 
• Learning about the varied Christmas traditions can be meaningful and enjoyable in a collaborative activity. Be a coach instead of a lecturer by engaging the learners to work on a multicultural Christmas fair inside the classroom. Divide the class into groups and let them build booths showcasing their idea of Christmas. It can be a gallery walk of their most treasured Christmas experiences, a cook-off of their favorite Christmas treats, or a concert performance of timeless Christmas songs. 
• It would be more exciting if we can engage the entire school in the multicultural Christmas fair, which will present how Christmas is celebrated around the world. A Christmas passport and giveaway stamps for every booth visit will be a delight.
• We are always young enough to bring more play into the classroom! As mentioned, gamifying our lessons can be more enjoyable and exciting for our learners. Ask them to get their favorite Christmas items (stockings, candy canes, wreaths, bells, angels, snow globes, tree toppers, Santa and reindeer figures, baby Jesus figure, candles, mistletoe, tinsel, and even a mini Christmas tree!) and play ‘Bring Me’ with a twist. Let them guess Christmas trivia like a quiz bee but with running and items. We can include the origins of the tree, Santa Claus, mistletoe, cards, and other modern Christmas traditions. 

• Christmas trivia may include:
  • The use of evergreens signifies the coming of spring in the ancient cultures of Egyptians, Romans, Celts, and Vikings. 
  • The idea of Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas.
  • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in a department store in 1939. 
  • Jingle Bells was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh,” a Thanksgiving song. 
  • The first commercial Christmas card was produced in London by Sir Henry Cole in 1843. 
  • The Christmas tree tradition began in Germany, while Protestant leader Martin Luther introduced the lighted candles on the tree. The Christmas tree became more popular in England because of the royal family – Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
  • In Mexico, the main holiday adornment is El Nacimiento (the Nativity scene).
  • In Ukraine, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7. 
• With the long history of celebrating Christmas, there have been several occasions when the day was outlawed, or brought peace. Using picture clues, let’s have a deeper discussion on the significance of Christmas. Sample pictures are presented in the PDF download.
• The spirit of Christmas did pause a great war in 1914. Known as the Christmas Truce, British, French, and German soldiers had an unofficial ceasefire along the Western Front and exchanged seasonal greetings above the trenches. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they exchanged food, swapped prisoners, buried the dead, and played football. 
• Some may think of him as the Grinch; Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell canceled festivities in England, including Christmas, as he ascended to power in 1645. The ban was lifted when Charles II was restored. In early America, pilgrims carried Puritan beliefs on Christmas in Boston, where the occasion was outlawed between 1659 and 1681. Compared to the settlement of Captain John Smith in Jamestown, early settlers in Boston were not a fan of Christmas. 
• Remember the data ranking Christmas 2nd in America’s most popular holiday after Thanksgiving? If you think that Christmas is more English than American for a longer time, you have a point. Also, following the American Revolution, the celebration gradually became unpopular. Only on June 26, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday. 
• Better to ask our learners the question, “So, when did Christmas become an anticipated occasion in American society?” This question may sound mind-melting, but not with literature they can draw upon, such as Washington Irving’s The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (1819), particularly the essays on Christmas, which reinvented the season in American society regardless of socio-economic status. Another gem that evolved the values of the Christmas season in the UK and the US was Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. An alternative presentation would be a film viewing of this classic Christmas piece. 

• More Christmas films are listed below:
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
  • Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
  • The Polar Express (2004)
  • Black Nativity (2013)
  • Frozen (2013)
  • The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2014)
  • The Star (2017)
  • Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) 
  • The Christmas Chronicles (2018 & 2020)
  • Klaus (2019)
  • Jingle-Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
  • A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

• More Christmas-themed literature below:
  • Letters from Father Christmas (J.R.R Tolkien)
  • The Snowman (Raymond Briggs)
  • The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry)
  • A Christmas Memory (Truman Capote)
  • The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (E.T.A Hoffmann)
  • Silent Night: The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce (Stanley Weintraub)
  • The Elves and the Shoemaker (Grimm Brothers)
  • The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Hans Christian Andersen)
  • Twas the Night Before Christmas (Clement Clarke Moore)
  • A Letter from Santa Claus (Mark Twain)
  • The Fir Tree (Hans Christian Andersen)
  • What Christmas is as We Grow Older (Charles Dickens)
  • Christmas Trees (Robert Frost)
  • The Little Match Girl (Hans Christian Andersen)

• Aside from becoming the unbeatable endorser of Coca-Cola, Santa Claus is perhaps the first Christmas vocabulary of a kid, and the first story of elves helping him create and give gifts to good children on Christmas eve through the chimney. Santa Claus, as a Christmas icon, can be a subject of teaching fact and fiction. Using comparative analysis, our learners can research the real St. Nicholas and the jolly red-bearded Santa. 
• We can also dwell on the significance of such Christmas icons in various times, such as war and economic depression. On January 3, 1863, Santa Claus, a Unionist, goes to the Civil War on the cover of Harper’s Weekly. In Christmas 1918 and 1941, Santa was again deployed to help the Allied Powers in its war efforts through posters saying “Peace. Your Gift to the Nation” and “Santa Claus Has Gone to War!”.
• Most importantly, let’s highlight the contemporary spirit of the Christmas season – peace, love, and sharing. Despite the commercialization that introduced the traditions of decorating Christmas trees, sending cards, and holiday rush in department stores, the Christmas season for most cultures is a special time of the year for togetherness and happiness – as classic as the season, creating Christmas cards is a great activity to end the lesson.

Learning outcomes

• Christmas is celebrated today as a religious, cultural, and secular tradition. From the ancient pagan festivities of observing the winter solstice to the acculturation of Christianity with the birth of Jesus, Christmas has become a complex tradition through time. 
• Like Easter and Halloween, the celebration of Christmas has evolved to be for everyone, regardless of religious beliefs and cultural differences. However we celebrate this season, it is for sure a unifying event for people in any part of the world. 
• The material things we receive during Christmas are only manifestations of the loving spirit of the season. 

Christmas Curriculum Worksheets

This is a fantastic curriculum bundle that includes everything you need to know about Christmas across 14 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Christmas, which is one of the most celebrated holidays/festivities in the world.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

• Teaching Christmas
  1. Short video explainer
  2. What to consider
  3. How to deliver
  4. Learning outcomes
• Lesson Plan Template
• Suggested Worksheets

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Christmas celebrated?

Christmas is celebrated both as a religious and cultural tradition. For Christians, Christmas marked the nativity of Jesus, while non-Christians today observe Christmas as a season for togetherness, gift-giving, and happiness.

How did Christmas start?

The origin of celebrating Christmas can be traced back to ancient pagan and early Roman cultures. Ancient pagans in Europe observed winter solstices through festivities, while the early Romans celebrated Saturnalia (for Saturn, the god of agriculture) and Mithra (sun god) in December. When Christianity was accepted in the Roman Empire and later spread in Europe, early Christians introduced the counter-cultural event (nativity of Jesus) to the existing pagan culture.

Is Santa real?

According to historical accounts, Santa Claus was based on the life of Saint Nicholas, a monk who lived in the 3rd century CE in Turkey.

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