In this lesson, students learn about Candles’ Day. They will engage in activities that help them understand the significance of Candles’ Day.*Please watch the videos beforehand to make sure the content is appropriate for your students. If you consider the video is not appropriate for your class, skip the activity and continue with the next one.
ACTIVITY
1
On the Eve of December 7th, Colombia celebrates Día de las Velitas , or Candles’ Day. This festivity centers on the idea of hope and gratitude towards life and sets the beginning of the holiday season.
According to the description, how do you think Candles’ Day is celebrated?
Which types of activities are done or performed?
After discussing the questions, watch the video below (0:54 – 2:10) and check if you guessed correctly. During this festivity, families gather to light up candles, Christmas lights, farolitos (paper lanterns), sparklers, and watch firework shows. Día de las Velitas represents hope, gratitude and it is the starting point of Christmas holidays.
Are there any similar celebrations in your country? Are there any festivities for expressing gratitude or hoping for the best to come?
How do you usually start your Christmas holidays? Is there any family or community tradition you follow?
Considering Día de las Velitas is a day to be grateful for our lives, families, health, and more, what are you grateful for this year?
ACTIVITY
2
There are other Hispanic countries whose celebrations mark the beginning point of the holiday season on December 7th. Guatemala, for instance, has a celebration called La Quema del Torito (Burning bulls). People create a wooden figure or effigy of a little bull and burn it in the middle of a public square; this is meant to purify and get rid of bad energies before the Virgin’s Day. It is also believed that this is a way to say goodbye to anything bad that happened in the year.
Watch the video to familiarise yourself with this bright celebration. Then discuss the question below.
Which celebrations come to mind when you think of fireworks and/or lights that happen in your country?
Guatemala’s La Quema del Torito significance reflects on overcoming negative experiences and cleansing any trail of bad feelings, so they can have a fresh new start. Are there any similar events in your community/country that you can relate to La Quema del Torito?
EXPERIENTIAL
ACTIVITY
Think about La Quema del Torito and how Guatemalans try to eliminate negativity from their lives so they can have a brand-new beginning next year. Let’s try to have a new start as well, think about negative aspects of your life or pessimistic experiences you want to let go or overcome. Write your ideas in a piece of paper, as this is a personal reflection, keep your ideas to yourself; finally, as a symbolic action, tear the paper and reflect on the new start you are about to have.
Now that the end of the year approaches and there are many holidays that are here to remind us of high hopes and good thoughts for what is to come, think about some objectives that you want to accomplish next year. Try to create your own vision board in which you portray behaviours you want to change, habits you want to improve. Mention every personal, academic or emotional goal you want to achieve and work on an audio or video that you can share with the rest of the class or your MEG teacher.