The Abcs of Christmas: A Look at Holiday Traditions in Canada and Around the World

By Mari Malatzy

Christmas is a special holiday, no matter where you live. In an entertaining rhyming book, long-time educator, Mari Malatzy, leads children through holiday symbol interpretations and lively descriptions of Christmas characters like Krampus, Yule lads, La Befana and Nova Scotia mummers—all while teaching little ones about the true meaning of the holiday.

Malatzy presents a multicultural focus with Christmas greetings, phrases, places, people, foods, songs, and products from around the world. Learn about famous Christmas parades, markets, and outdoor events. Children explore Canadian holiday activities and journey to the snow-filled wonderlands of Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto. Other countries featured include Argentina, Australia, Romania, Spain, England, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Chile, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Iceland, The Philippines and The United States of America. Parents are encouraged to read a letter every night leading up to Christmas and guide their child in the completion of fun educational follow-ups designed to further imaginations and provide additional learning opportunities.

The ABCs of Christmas is a rhyming children’s book that looks at holiday traditions and rituals in Canada and around the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532039126

Mari Malatzy

Mari Malatzy was born and raised in Canada. She has almost two decades of teaching experience, educating children of diverse cultural backgrounds in both elementary and high school levels. As a mom, Mari encourages a family bedtime routine that includes creating a story or reading a book. With her children’s encouragement, she set out to write her first book: The ABCs of Christmas.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 Mari Malatzy.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-3911-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3913-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3912-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017918744

iUniverse rev. date: 12/20/2017

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Contents

A is for Angel and Artificial Tree

B is for Blizzard and Bell

C is for Christmas and Candy Cane

D is for December and Donation

E is for Elf and Evergreen

F is for Father Christmas and Frankincense

G is for Gingerbread and Goodwill

H is for Holly and Holiday

I is for Ivy and Ice

J is for Jesus and Jack Frost

K is for Krampus and Kris Kringle

L is for Light and Log Fire

M is for Myrrh and Mistletoe

N is for St. Nick and North Pole

O is for Ornament and Occasion

P is for Poinsettia and Parade

Q is for Quebec and Quality Street

R is for Ritual and Reindeer

S is for Stocking and Santa

T is for Tinsel and Toboggan

U is for Unwrap and Universal Message

V is for Vixen and Vacation

W is for Winter and Wreath

X is for Christmas and words with EX

Y is for Yuletide and Yorkshire Pudding

Z is for Zest and Zamboni

Dedications:

To my darling family who inspire me to be creative – thanks kids for telling me you like my stories.

To my first art instructor, Mr. P Callaghan, who always showed faith in his students.

To my cousin Mike who has always been supportive and encouraging to everyone he loves.

Note to Parents and Teachers:

Mari holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Bachelor of Education Degree. She has also been a classroom teacher for almost two decades, with experience in both elementary and secondary school. As a teacher, Mari Malatzy has found that students engage in the process of learning more when they find the material interesting and fun.

To parents and teachers interested in adding an educational component to a child’s general reading experience, this book achieves that goal. The fun educational follow-ups at the end of the book are designed to further a child’s imagination and encourage additional learning opportunities. Parents and teachers can choose to read a letter daily leading up to Christmas, followed by a selected educational activity. Reading one letter per day is a good way to chunk the material and allow for time to complete the suggested educational follow-up activity.

Younger kids may prefer to read the first part of the letters as the writing style is typically more simplistic and focused on