When Renee Duvall, 6, paraded around Fox Elementary School with a crown of lights gleaming from her head, she was illustrating the ancient Swedish custom of St. Lucia Day.
Likewise, when fellow Hanover Park pupils Michelle Bak, 8, Nikko LaRosa, 7, and Sanette Tanaka, 8, collectively lit one of seven candles on a candelabrum called a kinara they were celebrating the African-American customs of Kwanzaa.
And, Andrew Hopkinson, 11, Stephanie Vasquez, 12, and Catherine Southworth, 12, who displayed tree lanterns, helped celebrate the Chinese New Year.
These celebrations were part of an International Festival of Lights, in which about 500 Fox pupils in 1st-6th grades studied multicultural differences.
Displays about the lighting ceremonies, plus student-made crafts, will be on view at Fox through Wednesday.
The Mexican display will represent the tradition known as Las Posadas, in which people carry candles to recreate the journey of Mary and Joseph searching for an inn.
The Jewish faith will be represented by the lighting of the menorah. The India display focuses on Diwali, in which homes are decorated with lights.
The celebration is one of many multicultural programs sponsored by the school. Others include a bilingual storyteller, Chinese New Year celebration and a schoolwide international picnic complete with dancing and music.
“We’re trying to promote multicultural understanding and acceptance of each other,” said Arlene Benhart, a bilingual teacher. “Our school includes children who come from Egypt, Poland, India, Honduras, Colombia and Mexico. As the world gets smaller we need to be more accepting of one another. Kids are much more blind to racial prejudices at this age and we hope to keep them this way,”
