McMaster Children's Party - Human Resources

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Registration and Event Details

Join us for McMaster’s Annual Children’s Party. This year’s party will feature family holiday activities and celebration! Check here for more information on registration and event details.

Registration and Event Details: Learn More

Registration and Event Details - Learn More

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Giving Back to the Community Learn More

Find information about the organizations that the Children’s Party is supporting in 2023. For virtual donations, please consider giving this holiday season to the United Way.

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Giving Back to the Community - Learn More

For a community to be great, it has to be great for everyone. We work with local agencies, government, stakeholders and thousands of donors like you, to change lives right here in Halton and Hamilton.

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Please note that if you choose to donate online, please highlight that your gift is part of a workplace campaign and enter McMaster University.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Closed captioning will be made available for all programs. If you have an accommodation need for any of our Children’s Party programs, please e-mail the Program’s Coordinator at dillankm@mcmaster.ca to make appropriate arrangements.

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Holidays Around the World

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At the annual McMaster Children’s Party, we build a greater awareness and understanding of each other’s cultures by celebrating the diversity of our children and holiday celebrations.

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Holidays Around the World:

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday based on the year-end harvest festivals, historically celebrated in Africa. Kwanza is derived from “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits of the harvest.”

Kwanzaa is celebrated over 7 days and celebrates the 7 principles of African Heritage – each of the seven days is dedicated to a principle. The principles are as follows:

Umoja (Unity)
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
Nia (Purpose)
Kuumba (Creativity)
Imani (Faith)

Kwanzaa celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed: a Kinara (candle holder for seven candlesticks), Mishumaa Saba (seven candles), mazao (crops), Mahindi (corn), a Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup) for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African Ancestors, and Zawadi (gifts).

During Kwanzaa, some of their main holiday dishes include African creole, Cajun catfish, jerk chicken, or Groundnut stew with sides such as Jollof rice, collard greens, Kwanzaa slaw, grits, beans and rice, and okra.

Learn more about Kwanzaa here

Hanukkah

This is an eight day Jewish celebration that commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt. Those who took part in the re-dedication witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued to burn for eight nights.

One tradition is to give gold coins called gelt. Today children are often given chocolate coins in a gold wrapping to make them look like gelt.

Other Hanukkah customs include playing with four-sided spinning tops called dreidels and exchanging gifts.

People celebrating Hanukkah eat special foods during this time. The traditional food is fried in olive oil to represent the miracle of the burning oil lamp. They enjoy potato pancakes, doughnuts stuffed with jam, and fritters.

The Hanukkah celebration revolves around the kindling of a nine-branched menorah, known in Hebrew as the hanukiah. On each of the holiday’s eight nights, another candle is added to the menorah after sundown; the ninth candle, called the shamash (“helper”), is used to light the others. Jewish folk typically recite blessings during this ritual and display the menorah prominently in a window as a reminder to others of the miracle that inspired the holiday.

Learn more about Hanukkah here

Nowruz

Nowruz is the name of the New Year’s Day holiday that’s celebrated by many countries in the Middle East and Central Asia and those in the Bahá’í faith. It marks the beginning of the Bahá’í year and falls at the start of spring. Nowruz means “new day,” which is fitting since it celebrates new beginnings.

Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.

Celebrating Nowruz means the affirmation of life in harmony with nature, awareness of the inseparable link between constructive labour and natural cycles of renewal and a solicitous and respectful attitude towards natural sources of life.

The Haft-Sin table is an important part of Nowruz celebrations. This table is carefully set up with items, some of which will be shared with family and friends on the holiday. A special cloth called a sofreh is first placed on the table. Then seven traditional items are arranged on it, including: wheat, lentils or barley, flowers, dried fruit, garlic, apples and vinegar. Each item is a symbol of spring and renewal. Sometimes the table is also decorated with other items, like a holy book, a mirror, a goldfish in a bowl for good luck, or painted eggs.

Learn more about Norwuz here

Moon Festival/Mid-Autumn Festival

The festival started as a moon worshipping ceremony over 3,000 years ago in China. People worshipped the moon with singing and dancing in the moonlight. Today, people pray to the moon for good luck.

During the festival, there are lantern shows. It is tradition to make and hang the lanterns. The handmade paper lanterns are popular with kids. They also make lanterns out of oranges and pumpkins.

People eat mooncakes during the festival. They’re round little pastries with sweet fillings and a design on the top. They also send mooncakes to their friends, family and teachers as gifts. There are different delicious flavours. During the festival, mooncakes are sold in supermarkets, malls and pastry shops.

Other Asian countries celebrate the Moon Festival in their own way. In Japan, people eat rice dumplings and offer sweet potatoes to the moon. In South Korea, they celebrate for three days. In Vietnam, it is celebrated as a children’s festival with lion dances.

Learn more about Moon Festival/Mid-Autumn Festival here

Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is based on the cycles of the moon, or the lunar year. That means it falls on a different day each year in either late January or February. Two of the most popular events of the holiday are the lion dance and the dragon dance. Every lunar year has a different special animal, called a “zodiac animal” and they are:

Rat
Ox
Tiger
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Sheep
Monkey
Rooster
Dog
Pig

Find out which animal represent your birth year and what they say about your personality

Learn more about Lunar Year here

Diwali

India’s biggest and brighter holiday, Diwali is also known as the festival of lights. It is a holiday celebrated around the world. It’s a harvest festival that started in India. But it’s also an important religious celebration for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. It’s like Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve put together. During Diwali, diya is lit inside and outside homes and buildings. The lights represent the triumph of light over dark and the power of good over evil.

During this festival, there are fireworks at night. Family and friends get together for a big feast, and you may see rangoli, usually on the ground, made using colored rice r powdered and they are said to bring good luck.

Learn more about Diwali here

Eid al-Fitr 

This is a three-day religious holiday that’s celebrated by Muslims around the world. It means the “Festival of the Breaking of the Fast”, marks the end of Ramadan.

Ramadan is a month-long holiday when Muslims fast, or go without food and drinks, during daylight.

During Eid al-Fitr, Muslim families and friends get together to celebrate. The day usually begins with the whole family enjoying a small breakfast. This is the first daytime meal that has been eaten in a month. Muslims then gather outside or at a mosque to pray together. In the afternoon, Muslims get together with family and friends to enjoy a big feast (with lots of sweets!). They also give gifts to each other. Traditionally, people greet each other by saying “Eid Mubarak,” which means “Blessed Eid.”

Learn more about Eid al-Fitr here

Songkran Water Festival

Nobody gets to stay dry during the Songkran Water Festival in Thailand. Just one part of the spring and New Year celebration, Songkran, the water festival shuts down major roads and packs them with people ready to have some water fun. Grab a bucket and load up!

Learn more about the Songkran Water Festival here

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McMaster Annual Children's Party: Holidays Around the World Survey

We know the McMaster community is made up of many diverse cultures and as such, celebrates the holiday season in many special ways. We are looking to highlight and celebrate these different traditions!

If you would like to share your culture’s holiday traditions, please complete our survey.

McMaster Annual Children's Party: Holidays Around the World Survey

Contact me for more information

Karli Dillane

Program Coordinator, Workplace Health & Well-being

1 (905) 525-9140 dillankm@mcmaster.ca

Karli Dillane

Program Coordinator, Workplace Health & Well-being

1 (905) 525-9140 dillankm@mcmaster.ca

Karli Dillane

Program Coordinator, Workplace Health & Well-being

1 (905) 525-9140 dillankm@mcmaster.ca

Karli Dillane

Program Coordinator, Workplace Health & Well-being

1 (905) 525-9140 dillankm@mcmaster.ca