Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Faces People, Places, and World Culture for Kids and Children

In many parts of the world, winter is a cold, dark season. To break up the often-bleak days, many cultures around the world hold winter festivals. Snow and ice are celebrated as people look forward to warmer, longer days. Here are five frigid facts to get you started. 1 Many people assume that during wintertime, the Sun must be at its greatest distance from Earth. Actually, the opposite is true. Earth is closest to the Sun in winter, but because the axis of Earth is inclined (tilted), the Northern Hemisphere faces away from the Sun and the Sun traces a shallow path across the sky. The shortest day of the year occurs on the winter solstice. This is the day when the Sun’s most direct rays shine most southerly. People…

3, 2, 1… Happy New Year. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, one of winter’s biggest celebrations is ringing in the new year. New Year’s celebrations are nothing new—they have been taking place for more than 4,000 years. Around 2000 B.C.E, the Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia marked the arrival of the new year with an 11-day festival. On the fourth day, the king’s crown was taken away and he was forced to his knees at the foot of a statue of Marduk, the god credited with the creation of the universe. After swearing that he had been a faithful ruler, the king was slapped in the face by the high priest. The slap was delivered with force, and its purpose was to bring the king to tears. Marduk…

One of the coldest cities in China is transformed into a kingdom of snow and ice every year. Harbin, in northeastern China, is the site of the Harbin International Snow and Ice Festival, the biggest winter festival in the world. The festival features some of the biggest and most beautiful ice sculptures ever created. In fact, in 2007, one of the festival’s snow sculptures achieved Guinness World Record status. The 115-foot-tall and 656-foot-long creation called “Romantic Feelings” was built from 120,000 cubic feet of ice and took a team of 600 sculptors to complete. Harbin’s location and frigid temperatures make it a natural spot to host a winter festival. The city center sits on the banks of the Songhua River. The river freezes over in the winter and is harvested…

On Hanukkah, families exchange presents, play dreidel, and snack on delicious gelt: chocolate candies shaped like coins. Why coins? In Europe, it was a Hanukkah tradition to give children a bit of gelt—Yiddish for money—to buy candy and treats. The first chocolate gelt was created in 1920 by a New York candy company. Now you can make your own sweet Hanukkah treat! What You’ll Need: » 1 cup chocolate chips» microwaveable bowl» spoon mini» cupcake liners» baking sheet or muffin tin» toothpick» gold or silver foil» scissors WHAT TO DO: 1. Arrange mini cupcake liners on the baking sheet or muffin tin. 2. Pour chocolate chips into the bowl. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Repeat until chocolate chips are melted and smooth. 3. Spoon a small…

CRITTER CORNER A favorite winter festival in northern Norway is the Finnmarkslopet sled dog race. It is the longest sled dog race in Europe at 475 miles. The race is held the second week in March, when the temperature is usually a comfortable few degrees below zero. And which quick canine can run such a great distance in about 5 days and 10 hours? Most mushers (human dog-sled racers) agree. It is the Alaskan husky. What does an Alaskan husky look like? Alaskan huskies are not a specific breed, like poodles or dachshunds. They are a category of dogs bred to run long distances. So, individuals can look quite different from each other. In general, Alaskan huskies are strong and lean. These medium-sized dogs have pointed ears, curled tails, long…

Salut, Bonhomme! He’s seven feet tall, weighs 400 pounds, and wears a red hat atop his head and an arrow sash around his waist. His name is Bonhomme and he’s the mascot of Quebec City’s Winter Carnival, the largest winter festival in the Western Hemisphere. Bonhomme (short for bonhomme de neige, “snowman”) is the focal point of the French-speaking city’s 10-day festival. His smiling face and outgoing personality capture the delight Quebecers (people from Quebec, Canada) take in winter and their “joie de vivre,” or joy of life. Quebec City’s Carnival, also called Carnaval, is not only one of the biggest winter festivals in the world, it is also one of the oldest. The carnival traces its roots to the settlers of New France (1534-1763), who would gather to break…

Imagine a whole week of eating all the pancakes you want! Each year toward the end of winter, children in Siberia (and throughout Russia) do just that. During the festival of Maslenitsa (MAH-zlen-eet-sa), also known as “Pancake Week” or “Butter Week,” Siberians celebrate by baking and eating pancakes called blini (BLEEN-ee). One pancake is a blin (BLEEN). More than one and you’ve got blini. Maslenitsa is a folk celebration that marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. It is similar to Mardi Gras in the United States and Carnival in South America. During Maslenitsa in Siberia, some communities organize sleigh rides, snow sledding, snow sculpture contests, and even playful snowball fights. It is also a religious holiday and always occurs the week before the Lenten season (Lent)…

What would winter be without skiing? It is a sport that’s popular all over the world. In the United States alone, 18 million people go skiing every year. The most popular kind of skiing is downhill (also called alpine), where skiers ride a lift to the top of a mountain and ski down. Cross country skiing is also popular, where skiers travel across both at areas and hills. Freestyle skiing includes jumps, spins, and ips. Norway was the first country to have a special army unit that used skis. Since then, many countries have trained soldiers to ski for when they must go to snowy climates. The U.S. Army s 10th Mountain Division trains its soldiers in skiing and mountain climbing. Skiing dates to 5000 B.C.E. It was first used…

What is the winter solstice? As the dog days of summer become crisp fall days, the amount of sunlight a region receives becomes less and less. The Sun doesn’t appear as high in the sky and the sunset occurs earlier and earlier in the day until the shortest day of the year—the winter solstice. This is the day when the Sun’s most direct rays shine most southerly. People in the Northern Hemisphere begin the winter season, while people in the Southern Hemisphere begin summer. The winter solstice occurs in June in the Southern Hemisphere when those in the Northern Hemisphere experience the summer solstice. Many people assume that during wintertime, the Sun must be at its greatest distance from Earth. Actually, the opposite is true. Earth is closest to the…

Bonfires. Trick-or-treating. A night of celebration. Is this Halloween? No—it’s the festival of Lohri (LAW-huh-ree). One of India’s many winter festivals, Lohri is mainly observed across the country’s northern provinces. Most celebrations occur in the Punjab region. In ancient times, folks celebrated Lohri on the winter solstice, when the day is the shortest. Today, though, people mark the date for Lohri as the last day of the coldest month in regional, moon-based calendars. According to the sun-based Gregorian calendar, this is typically January 13. Lore Behind Lohri Lohri owes its origins to India’s geography. Most of the country lies in the tropics—not North India, though. Here, winters are bitterly cold. Lohri marks the end of these low temperatures. Despite this cold, the sun’s rays provide enough light and warmth for…

Paul Bunyan, a legendary lumberjack, performed epic feats and inspired many exaggerated stories of heroism that make up the heart of American tales. “Tar-nation,” uttered Paul Bunyan as he saw the geese flying backwards in the morning sky. “Dag-nabbit!” He knew by the smell of the air and the taste of the clouds that the deep cold was on its way. “We’d best prepare.” Paul combed his hair with a field disk harrow, jumped into his boots, and set off for the camp kitchen. The camp cookery was a hurricane of action, Paul was the calm eye of the storm as he ate his breakfast—sloshing, slurping, crunching, and gulping, along with other unsettling sounds. Steaming black coffee was poured from barrels into slanted log sluices directly into Paul’s chipped-enamel tin…