Last call
When is it celebrated?
Usually May 25
The meaning and history of the holiday
The exact date of the appearance of the Last Bell in the school holiday calendar is unknown. But the fact that it has been celebrated for several decades and is very much loved by students is a fact.
As celebrated in schools
Despite the vague origins of the Last Bell, stable traditions of its celebration have developed. On the last school day, before the start of exams, middle and senior graduates (ninth and eleventh graders) become participants and protagonists of solemn assemblies and cheerful skits, for them the last bell rings (performed by a fragile first-grader girl with huge white bows, sitting on shoulder of a tall graduate - this is one of the main traditions), and then the guys go on boat rides, walks in parks, and have picnics. On this day, you can often see girls dressed in Soviet school uniforms with white aprons and huge bows. Graduates attach a small bell on a three-color ribbon to their clothes, and wear a ribbon with the golden inscription “Graduate” over their shoulders.
What to gift
Graduates are given memorable photo albums or even videos that will remind the children of their school years and wish them success in their exams. Teachers are also congratulated on this holiday and given flowers and sweets. Often, congratulations to teachers are included in the skit program, preceded by the presentation of a gift to each subject teacher with poems, altered songs or skits.
Easter
When is it celebrated?
The date of the holiday changes every year; you can check the date in the church calendar. In 2021, Orthodox Easter will be celebrated on April 8, and in 2021 on April 28.
The meaning and history of the holiday
For Orthodox Christians, Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the main church holiday.
As celebrated in schools
In schools, Easter is not celebrated on such a grand scale as other holidays, but it is still not forgotten. If a child grows up in a believing family, then he may well congratulate other children and teachers. The main thing is that parents of children who are far from the church teach their children to respect the faith and traditions of other people and nations. After all, congratulations on Easter, the Holiday of Breaking the Fast (Uraza Bayram, Ramadan Bayram) or any other religious holiday does not oblige your child to anything, but is simply a manifestation of sympathy, respect and trust.
What to gift
Traditional Easter gifts for Orthodox Christians: colored eggs and Easter cakes. But if a child wants to congratulate his friends and teachers, then it is quite appropriate to do this with homemade or purchased cards, chocolate produced especially for Easter, rabbit figurines and other small gifts.
Orthodox holidays
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the temple. Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
December 4 – Feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Great Christian holiday belongs to the twelve permanent holidays of the Orthodox Church. The basis is a church tradition about how, at the age of three, parents solemnly introduced Mary, the future Mother of God, into the Jerusalem Temple. This feast of the Introduction was established at the dawn of Christianity.
December 13 is the Day of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called. In Russia, the memory of Saint Andrew the First-Called has always been revered very solemnly. Even Peter I established in honor of the apostle the first and highest award of Russia - the Imperial Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Also, since the times of Peter the Great, the St. Andrew's flag became the official banner of the Russian fleet, and under its shadow Russian sailors won many glorious victories.
The Nativity Fast continues, which is also called the Filippov Fast or, in common parlance, Filippovki. In Orthodoxy, it is also called Pentecost, since the fast established in honor of the Nativity of Christ lasts 40 days (from November 28) - until the eve of the bright holiday. The Church teaches that fasting is needed so that on the holiday of Christmas people can meet the Son of God with a pure heart, soul and body. Until January 1, 2022 (inclusive), fasting is not strict, but from January 2 to January 6 it is strict.
What to do at home with your child
And at home in December there are a lot of exciting and interesting activities.
Of course, the first thing is preparation for the New Year celebration. During preparation, be sure to learn a poem or song for Grandfather Frost, write him a letter with your child about your most cherished desires, decorate the house together, dress up a beautiful Christmas tree, prepare and pack gifts. A classic is cutting out wonderful ornate snowflakes onto the window.
You can paint a winter landscape using a variety of tools and arrange an exhibition of your work, or make a real fairy-tale lantern with your own hands:
In the evening you can have a quiet leisure time, read literature about winter, and various Christmas stories.
Download and read my author's winter tales...
You can also watch a New Year's movie or cartoon with your whole family, grabbing popcorn and soda as an exception.
And for the most active and artistic, we suggest making a New Year's home performance, choose something with a winter or even New Year's theme.
And spend one of your winter evenings watching educational cartoons such as Auntie Owl. Today she will tell us about the month that ends the calendar year - December.
International Women's Day
When is it celebrated?
March 8
The meaning and history of the holiday
The popularly beloved spring holiday in Russia has long lost its ideological significance and is simply perceived as a holiday of women. And few people remember that Russian women first celebrated it in 1913 “as part of the peace movement,” and in 1921, by the decision of the Second Communist Women’s Conference, International Women’s Day was established. In the USSR, the holiday was loved so much that since 1966 it has become a non-working day. In 1975, the International Women's Day and the UN began celebrating on the eighth of March.
As celebrated in schools
In Russian schools, girls and female employees are congratulated on March 8th. The festive program is usually extensive: concerts, competitions, “lights”, etc.
What to gift
Girls can be delighted with kits for making creams, aromatic bath bombs, and beaded jewelry. Flowers, gift certificates from cosmetics or jewelry stores, etc. will cheer up female teachers.
December riddles for children
Name the month in this riddle, guys: Its days are shorter than all days, longer than nights, Snow fell on the fields and meadows until spring. Our month has only passed and we are celebrating the New Year. (December.)
His days are shorter than all days, Longest than nights. Snow fell on the fields and meadows until spring. Only a month will pass - We are celebrating the New Year. ( December)
The end of the year and the beginning of winter! This is how they asked me the riddle. Frost and blizzard, And snow in the yard. Winter is coming to visit us... (In December)
Well, when will the New Year come to us with gifts? - Let Him come to the kids early, ... (in December)
Of the three winter brothers, He was the first to appear. Frost and snow, I managed to share! (December)
Riddles about winter
Riddles about the New Year
Victory Day
When is it celebrated?
9th May
The meaning and history of the holiday
The date of the establishment of this holiday is connected with the fact that it was on May 9, 1945 that the plane that brought the Act of Surrender from Germany landed on Red Square. In the first three post-war years it was a day off. But from 1948 to 1965, May 9 was a day off, and the holiday was not celebrated at the state level. Since 1965, the situation has changed; it was decided to make this May day a day off again. Since then, its celebration has been and continues to be accompanied to this day by parades, fireworks, festivities and honoring of veterans.
As celebrated in schools
Perhaps now, no holiday in our schools is prepared with such trepidation. Victory Day has never been a holiday “for show,” but in recent years, thanks to the “Immortal Regiment” campaign, it has become very personal and sincere. Although there are fewer and fewer war veterans, they still exist and are still invited to visit schoolchildren. Many schools have museums dedicated to the Second World War, obelisks or memorial stands. On the eve of the holiday (which is a day off), schools hold thematic events with reading poetry, singing songs of the war years, mini-skits or even performances. Some schools hold parades and songs, and shooting competitions. All this helps children feel involved in the events of wartime.
What to gift
Flowers and gifts on this day are given only to veterans. School students lay flowers at memorials and monuments, most often scarlet carnations.
Proverbs and sayings about December for children
- December is the cap of winter.
- December is New Year's Eve.
- December ends old grief and lays a path for the new year with happiness.
- The year ends in December, and winter begins.
- December is cold: it’s freezing all winter.
- December paints patterns on the windows.
- December snowstorms will sweep snowdrifts.
- The sun shines in December, but does not warm.
- December pleases your eyes with snow, but hurts your ears with frost.
- December is the month of large wolf packs.
- December is a time of gloomy skies and early evening days.
- After the solstice, even at a sparrow's leap, the day will arrive.
- December paints patterns on the windows.
- December is famous for its solstice.
- December will ask what summer has brought (in store).
- December nails, paves, nails down.
- December builds bridges without an axe, without nails, without boards.
- December pleases your eyes with snow and hurts your ears with frost.
- In December, the sun turns to summer and winter turns to frost.
- In December, winter lays down white canvases, and frost builds bridges across rivers.
- In December the frost increases, but the day arrives.
- In December it dawns late and gets dark early.
- In December there are seven weathers: sowing, blowing, blowing, whirling, muddying, tearing and sweeping.
Interesting signs about December
Winter is a special time of year... sedate, calm. Attentive ancestors noted many fascinating facts about her. They are also available in December:
- At the end of December, the sun turns to summer and winter turns to frost. If in December there is a lot of frost, mounds of snow, deeply frozen ground, then this means a harvest.
- If in December the snow piles up close to the fences, it will be a bad summer; if there is a gap left, there will be a harvest.
- If it snows on December 3, expect rain in June.
- If in December the ground is well frozen, there is a lot of frost and mounds of snow, then next year will be fruitful.
- Snowy and frosty December - for a fruitful harvest.
- If in December the snow falls close to the fences, then the summer will be bad; if there is a gap left, it will be fruitful.
- If December is dry, spring and summer will also be dry.
- If the weather is good in the morning on Paramonov Day (December 12), then the rest of the month will be clear. If a snowstorm blows, then this weather will continue for another week.
- If the weather is good a week before the New Year, then the weather will be fine for the New Year and Christmas too.
Poems about December for children
December has inspired and continues to inspire poets and prose writers. After all, there is so much beauty outside the window!.. I want to sing about it and admire it endlessly...
There are even more poems about winter by classical poets and others in our article “Poems about Winter”
December is cold
Like emerald bridges on a river, And in the field there are snow-white canvases. In the snowy, icy December, the Seven Weathers are all playing tricks in the yard.
The frost has grown a silver beard, stinging the cheeks, fingers, ears, forehead and nose. I won’t whine, I’ll endure everything, I won’t scream - I’ll ride on a new sled in the New Year.
M. Sukhorukova
December
In December, in December all the trees are silver. As if in a fairy tale, frost paved the river overnight, skates, sleds, brought a Christmas tree from the forest...
S. Marshak
December
In December, in December. All trees are in silver. Our river is like in a fairy tale. It was frosty overnight. I updated my skates and sleds and brought a Christmas tree from the forest. The Christmas tree cried at first from the warmth of home. In the morning she stopped crying, started breathing, came to life. Its needles are trembling slightly, the lights are lit on the branches. Like a ladder, a Christmas tree, the lights run up. The firecrackers sparkle with gold, the star lit with silver, reaching the top of the head, the most important light. A year has passed like yesterday. Over Moscow at this hour the clock of the Kremlin tower strikes its fireworks twelve times.
(S. Marshak)
December
The door opened and she walked in, wrapped in a white blanket, trees, streets, houses... December and winter has come!
The leaves of the calendar will flash and the New Year is already knocking... From January to December All this will happen again.
Enchanted December
Snowflakes are flying slowly, large and heavy. I didn't recognize the old garden when I came home from school. It became like a fairy-tale casket, all white and carved. Like an enchanted ice princess palace.
***
December walks through the forest, scattering pearls and silver. At the edge of the forest there is a noisy camp of restless crows. They will make noise and fly away to get some simple food. And December - they laugh after them, shower their friends with snow. Kersten T
***
You won’t see a puddle in December - the puddles froze long ago. In December there is frost and cold, the window is painted. In December - the wise old year will sum it all up. A snowy Christmas tree, from the market, will come to us through the threshold! And it immediately smells like pine. Let's decorate the Christmas tree and wait impatiently for FROST, like a hero. Kapustyuk N.
