I have worked on campuses that do celebrate holidays and campuses that don't celebrate holidays. I have put Christmas trees in the classroom, held Easter Egg hunts on the playground, and directed Thanksgiving plays on the auditorium stage - all bound to traditional Christian beliefs. Then again, I have participated in harvest celebrations and run booths for spring flings and decorated for winter festivals that were non-secular and strictly seasonal get-togethers for the school.
I have to say the latter works better for me and my personal beliefs. I enjoy hosting and participating in events that encourage families to meet on campus for the pure purpose of meeting and mingling. There is no emphasis on gifts, religions, belief systems or past practices. Just kids and their parents and families, coming to classrooms, enjoying the students' class projects or art work, maybe some music, and the staff's cooking. Kids still are involved in decorating, baking or dressing up, but there's less chance of offending or alienating families. Having worked my entire career at schools that served a low-income population, I feel it is less stress on the families. And less stress for me, if truth be told. There, I said it. Holidays are too hard to coordinate into curriculum, and teaching is my main focus - way above the bunnies and the skeletons. You may call me 'Ms. Scrooge'.
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