Festivals around the world have many common themes such as the new year, the return of spring, harvest-time, weddings and religious holidays. Even so, while the focus of the celebration may be the same, the festivals themselves always bear the unmistakable personality of the people who celebrate them.
In England, for example, revelors celebrate Shrove Tuesday (also called Mardi Gras) with a laid-back pancake race beginning at the stroke of noon. On the other side of the world in Rio de Janeiro, partygoers let loose the world's most unrestrained, tumultuous carnival. Ask your kids if they can name a few festivals that reflect the personality of their own culture.
INDIAN DIWALI LAMPS
MATERIALS
• Self-hardening clay
• Bowl of water
• Vegetable oil
• Candlewick
By the light of the moon in late October or early November, Hindus all across India celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights. Houses are freshly whitewashed and, as night falls, rooftops, courtyards, walkways and windows are lined with hundreds of tiny clay oil lamps called dipas. These light the way for Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, to visit homes and bring her blessing.
Adding to the spectacle, glasses filled with colored water are placed in front of some dipas to make those lights glow red, green and blue. In some towns, girls try to float their lamps across a local river; if a dipa reaches the other shore illuminated, the girl's family will have good fortune in the coming year.
INSTRUCTIONS
Have your children roll clay balls about two inches in diameter. Next, show them how to press down into the balls with both thumbs, hollowing the inside and forming bowls. Have them pull each bowl into a pear shape and smooth the surfaces and edges with water. Finally, have them make a lip at the narrow end of each lamp, using a thumb or pencil. This is where the wick will rest, so be sure it angles up and away from the bottom of the bowl.
Make 10 to 20 lamps and let them dry for four days. To set up the lamps, have your children cut four-inch lengths of wick. Decide where the lamps will be placed, then fill them with vegetable oil and immerse all but the top 1/4 to 1/2 inch of the wick in the oil. Rest the dry wick on the lamp's small lip. It's finally time to light the lamps and enjoy.
While many cultures have maintained their traditions over centuries, others have been subjected to geographic and political upheaval, and have had to alter their traditions to accommodate a new way of life.
The Jonkonnu masquerade of Jamaica, which has been traced back to the late 17th century, is a hybrid art born of a changing lifestyle. Every year, slaves were given three days' holiday at Christmastime. To celebrate, they staged elaborate performances that made fun of their masters. Dancers mimicked European dances and even quoted Shakespeare, poking fun at the colonists in power.
The most characteristic feature of Jonkonnu is the wire mask each dancer wears; some dancers' masks are painted pink or white to resemble the skin color of the white colonists.
INSTRUCTIONS Cutting And Molding
Cut a piece of screening eight inches square and have your child hold the middle of the top edge to the middle of his forehead. Carefully bend the screen under his chin, taking two tucks in the screening. Then remove it and trim off the excess.
To mold the mask's lips, your child can press the screening between his lips and grab it with his teeth, biting down. While he's still biting the lips, have him pinch along his nose and around his eyebrows through the screening. When he's finished he can take the mask away from his face and pinch its contours to shape them more sharply.
Painting
In separate disposable containers, let your child thicken 1/4 cup of white, black, red and pink enamel paint with 1/2 tablespoon of flour. He can begin by painting the eyes of his mask white. Use black for eyelashes, eyebrows, a beard and a moustache; red for lips and pink for cheeks. Once the white paint on the eyes has dried, he can paint the irises black.
Finishing
Cut the edges of the mask to a comfortable size for your child's face and hot-glue the seam binding around the edges to make them smooth. With a nail, poke a hole in each side of the mask and attach a length of elastic to hold it on your child's head.
