Holiday traditions are windows into the heart of a culture. For children, they provide an early opportunity to understand that while the world is vast and varied, joy, love, and meaning are shared human experiences.
In today’s interconnected world, teaching unity can feel like both a great challenge and a beautiful opportunity. One of the most natural ways to approach this with children is by exploring how families across the globe celebrate holidays, not as a lesson in difference, but as a discovery of connection.
This is exactly what inspired Celebrations Around the World by Marcia Harvey Elovich, a book centered around two curious and kind-hearted characters, Amity and Autumn. The girls exchange letters with pen pals in different countries and learn firsthand that “not everyone celebrates Christmas like we do”—a simple truth that often holds more meaning than we give it credit for.
The Power of Perspective
There’s something uniquely powerful about learning from someone your own age. The children who write to Amity and Autumn in the book describe their holidays from their lived experience. These are not adult summaries of traditions; they’re snapshots of excitement, preparation, food, family, music, and the moments that matter most to children around the world.
For young readers, hearing about Diwali, Hanukkah, or the Lunar New Year from another child’s perspective makes the experience more relatable and meaningful. The stories don’t present other traditions as “other,” but as familiar in spirit, even if different in practice.
This approach does something subtle but profound: it opens the door to empathy. Not by teaching it directly, but by letting it happen naturally through shared curiosity.
Pen Pals and Global Friendships
The idea of pen pals may feel nostalgic, but it still holds immense value. Children today are digitally connected but socially distanced; thus, letter writing offers something slower and more thoughtful. Through Amity and Autumn’s exchanges, readers experience not just global cultures but global friendships.
This form of storytelling stems from the author’s real-life experience. Marcia Harvey Elovich once ran a children’s blog, The Global Pen Pals, where she created fictionalized letters inspired by her own pen pals from around the world. That connection is what gives the stories in Celebrations Around the World their quiet depth. It’s not about teaching culture through facts, but learning it through someone else’s joy.
Holiday Stories as a Bridge
Every holiday tradition has its own rituals, food, and meaning, beneath which lie universal themes: belonging, remembrance, hope, and celebration. When children see these themes reflected across cultures, the idea of “different” becomes less intimidating and far more exciting.
Books like Celebrations Around the World make space for children to ask: What do other people care about? What do they remember, prepare for, and cherish? And maybe even: What can I learn from them?
A Place to Begin
Unity doesn’t have to start with big conversations. Sometimes it begins with a story. A letter. A glimpse into a life lived differently, but not so differently that we can’t find ourselves in it.
For families, educators, and anyone guiding children toward greater cultural understanding, holiday traditions offer a gentle, joyful path forward. Through the eyes of children like Amity, Autumn, and their pen pals, the world becomes just a little more connected and a little more kind.
Read Celebrations Around the World to learn more.
