26 January 2004

Holiday Lesson in Tolerance

After seeing George W. talking to Diane Sawyer on American television, I was feeling a little hesitant about the reaction to me as an American when I went to teach my class on tolerance at the primary school. There was George W., right in front of God and everybody, speaking on behalf of me and my fellow Americans saying we should kill Saddam, and a big part of the rest of the world saying "no" to this barbaric custom.

Shortly after I saw the interview I was off to teach 10-year-olds about tolerance by talking about the different celebrations of this season of the year. As soon as I arrived the kids gathered around the table where I was sorting out all of the goodies I had brought for sharing. They wanted to touch the Santa, the Menorah, the dreidel and the Quoran. They were gentle with each item.

We spent the morning together talking first about the Muslim celebration of Ramadan. They thought long and hard about what it would be like not to eat or drink anything during the daylight hours for 30 days. We talked about sacrifice and why the Muslims believe this is a time of renewal and giving to others who are needy. Every single one of the 30 children thumbed through the Quoran as if it were an ancient holy relic. I was touched by their fascination and respect for this holy book.

Of course we talked about the Christian nativity, and how Pope Gregory sent his representatives to soft sell the Christian conversion of the Anglo-Saxons by saying the Saxons could continue to observe the winter solstice. We talked about the Roman custom of exchanging gifts Dec. 25, (the longest night of the year celebration called "Yule" by the Pagans) and how this date would become known as the birthday of Jesus Christ.

They were fascinated with the pagan customs of decorating trees, wreaths and singing carols. They loudly sang along with me to the words of "Deck the Halls." These were the same sweet voices that only the day before had sung their hearts out in "Scrooge," the annual Christmas play.

We ended with the Miracle of Light, better known as the Jewish celebration of Hanukah. We lit the Menorah candle with the Shamash, and they played a gambling game with the top, known as the dreidel. Every one of them was hesitant to try the latkes (potato pancakes) I made, but they did.

They especially enjoyed learning a few Hebrew words and chanted "Shalom," meaning peace, hello or goodbye.

After the small gifts were given out, which is the custom during the eight nights of Hanukah, each one of the children found a way to say "thank you" as I was cleaning up. Some of them smiled with great joy and said "Shalom."

Later that day I was still feeling a glow of happiness about the time I spent with those noisy, rowdy 10-year-olds. They were so eager to learn about customs and people who are different from us. And they were no different from the French or even the American children I've taught. It made me begin to wonder what is wrong with us adults that we seem so afraid of that which is different from us.

After dark, my neighbor came over to tell me that her son was very excited when he came home from school today because he had learned a gambling game from me in school. He said it was one of the best days at school yet. Then he recited the Hebrew words he had learned, and the story of the Ramadan and Hanukah. What a way to teach tolerance!

Happy New Year from all of us in Hadleigh, England.

Annie Warmke lives in Hadleigh, England. She writes a weekly column on life in a small town. Someday in the not too distant future she intends to return to live at her farm near Philo, but for the time being she is a world citizen making friends in small towns wherever she goes. You can be in touch with her via e-mail at annie@bluerockstation.com.