JINGLE BELLS DANCE
Today is
Day of the Year:
Jingle Bells Dance
Collected by Karen Ellis on Wed, 3 Dec 1997 from Ruth A. Shortreed
For all of you who could use a good activity to channel some of that boundless energy the children have this time of year, here are directions for a good mixer dance to Jingle Bells:
Formation: Double Circle with children having partners
1. On the first phrase, "Dashing throught the snow in a one horse open sleigh," partners walk CCW with inside hand joined, continuing through "Laughing all the way."
2. At the beginning of the phrase beginning with "Bells on bob-tail ring," partners change direction and walk clockwise together around the circle through the remainder of the verse.
3. At the beginning of the chorus, partners drop hands and face one another. On the words, "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way", the children clap hands 3 times in front of themselves, then 3 times behind their backs, the 3 more times in front, followed by a patty-cake with their partner on the word "way".
4. On, "Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh" children do a right elbow swing with their partner one time around ( or a do-si-do).
5. Repeat the hand claps and patty-cake pattern, followed by a left elbow
6. The outer circle of partners each slide one step to the right and take a new partner to begin the next verse, again walking CCW with their inside hands joined.
(With older kids I have the inside circle also step to the right simultaneously with the outer circle for the partner change and it makes I have a repeat function on my CD player at school and it's great to pop in the CD from Book 2 (p. 188 in the text) of Silver Burdett Ginn "The Music Connection" and just let the children dance until they have changed partners several times!
I remember seeing the directions for the clapping part of this dance somewhere in print, but after years of using it and adapting it, the source is unknown. If anyone recognizes this, please fill us in so that we can give credit where credit is due!
Happy Holidays!
Ruth Ann Shortreed
Brill Elementary
Klein, ISD - Texas
Jingle Bell Square Dance with Caller
Santa in a Red Canoe -Hawaii Dance Activity for Grade level 1 - 5
Need a Space large enough for group to Hula dance. Lesson Objective (Psychomotor and/or Cognitive):Cultural awareness, dance and movement. Teaching Hints: Keep your knees bent. Separate movement and song to begin with. Teach by mirroring.
Here comes Santa Here comes Santa Here comes Santa Here comes Santa |
Hula R Same as before Same as before |
Coax (beckon) 2 times on R side Coax (beckon) 2 times on L side
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Wassail History Mummers
Wassail History
"Wassail - An etymology of this word wassale [is that] common people do = often, on those nights, wash their throats with ale." - Thomas Blount's Glossographia, 1656
Plays For Wassailing
Wassail is closely related to the mumming traditions. Mummers also travel from door to door. They perform plays and drama do tricks and sing. This play dates from the 15th century and is a good piece of drama to add to your Wassail experience.
CULTURE OF HONOR
Bryan Palmer article explains the connections between charivari, rough music and forerunners of the KKK in American Southern history in a Canadian journal called Labour. There's new scholarship on Klan history, including the role of women in the Klan.
Primarily the KKK hated Catholic, Jewish, Black and Franco-American, French Canadian communities. Roger Abrahams in his classes at Penn on public display events pointed out the CHARIVARI / KLAN connections, building on the work of rough music, skimmington, whitecaps, and other related European-American masking traditions and community morality.
See Irish Wassail History The Origins of British Mummers' Plays
Philadelphia Mummers Parade and Tradition - Philadelphia tradition alive and well can still be seen every January 1ST. History, club info, picture gallery. Mummer 101
Fralinger String Band's Swashbuckler's Serenade performance in the Philadelphia Mummers Parade on January 1, 2004. Buccaneer is an Irish Word
Fralinger Wins in 2004!
What was the first known Santa song?
The first mention of Santa in the American sense that is Santa Claus rather than a Nicholas or Father Christmas is here:
The First References to Santa
"Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night.
O'er chimney tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.....
Each Christmas eve he joys to come
Where love and peace have made their home"
William B. Gilley, - A Children's Friend, 1821.
In 1821 a small booklet of sixteen pages in length was published by William Gilley it was entitled A New Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve Number III : The Children's Friend. It had eight engravings and told the story of a man who delivered presents to children.
The name of the man was Santeclaus.
Krampus
Santa Claus is a Christianization of a handful of traditional winter solstice figures, who morphed into St. Nicholas after the Catholics swarmed into Austria. Krampus is one of those quirky survivals of a pagan tradition that preceded Christianity. Much like Santa himself.
The First Christmas Tree - download PDF
The first documented use of an evergreen tree in a Christmas celebration was in Riga, Latvia, in the year 1510 according to many sources. Little is known about the original Riga tree other than the fact that it was attended by men wearing black hats, and that after a ceremony, they burn the tree. The winter traditions of the year 1510 and indicate that the tree was decorated with paper flowers and dried fruits. The tree was burned with a celebration in the square on or about the 6th of January of the new year. http://www.firstchristmastree.com
Ancient English Christmas Carols 1400 - 1700
Modern Day Christmas Samples - Deck the Halls etc.
AMERICA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD?
Printed at the Ephrata Cloister press in 1769, this Christmas greeting begins with the Scripture verse: “And she shall bear a son, whose name shall be Jesus because He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). (Facsimile of the original, Ephrata Cloister, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.)
Music | Teachers | Movement / Dance | Songs | Games | Linguistics | Dialect
THE MARVELOUS TOY! Words and Music by Tom Paxton Recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary in the 1960's.
Verse I
When I was just a wee little lad
Full of health and joy,
My father homeward came one night
And gave to me a toy.
A wonder to behold it was
With many colors bright;
And the moment I laid eyes on it,
It became my heart's delight!
(Chorus)
It still goes"Zip" when it moves
And"Pop" when it stops,
And,"Whirrr" when it stands still.
I never knew just what it was
And I guess I never will!
Verse II
The first time that I picked it up
I had a big surprise.
Cause right on the bottom
Were two big buttons
That looked like big green eyes.
I first pushed one and then the other,
Then I twisted it's lid.
And when I set it down again,
Here is what it did:
(Chorus)
Verse III
It first marched left,
And then marched right.
Then marched under a chair.
And when I looked where it had gone
It wasn't even there?
I started to cry, but my daddy laughed
Cause he knew that I would find...
When I turned around my marvelous toy
Would be chugging from behind!
(Chorus)
Verse IV
The years have gone by too quickly it seems,
I have my own little boy.
And yesterday I gave to him
My marvelous little toy.
His eyes nearly popped
Right out of his head,
And he gave a squeal of glee!
Neither one of us knows just what it is
But he loves it just like me!
(Chorus)
DOMINICK THE DONKEY
(THE ITALIAN CHRISTMAS DONKEY)
Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Santa's got a little friend,
His name is Dominick.
The cutest little donkey,
You never see him kick.
When Santa visits his paisans,
With Dominick he'll be.
Because the reindeer cannot,
Climb the hills of Italy.
Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Jingle bells around his feet,
And presents on the sled.
Hey! Look at the mayor's derby,
On top of Dominick's head.
A pair of shoes for Louie,
And a dress for Josephine.
The labels on the inside says,
They're made in Bruccalin'. (Brooklyn)
Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Children sing, and clap their hands,
And Dominick starts to dance.
They talk Italian to him,
And he even understands.
Cummare's and cumpare's
Do the dance 'a tarantell',
When Santa Nicola comes to town,
And brings 'o ciucciarell'.
Hey! Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
It's Dominick the donkey.
Chingedy ching,
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
The Italian Christmas donkey.
(la la la-la la-la la la la la)
(la la la-la la-la la-ee-oh-da)
Hey! Dominick! Buonn Natale!
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
(hee-haw, hee-haw)
What is the definition of Dialect?
Neapolitan Dialect
- Paisans: 'paisano' - fellow countryman
- Cummare: Godmother, female relative
- Cumpare: Godfather, male relative
- A tarantell: southern Italian dance
- Santa Nicola: Saint Nick
- O ciucciarell: little donkey
- Buonn Natale: Merry Christmas
DECEMBER + MULTI / CULTI HOLIDAY RESOURCES
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a joyous celebration about the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days when there was only enough oil left in the temple for one day! Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar (November/December). All About Chanukah. Chanukah or Hanukkah? Why do some people write Chanukah while others say Hanukkah?
Information about Hanukkah, covering the history and meaning of the holiday and how to celebrate, complete with blessings, songs, activities, recipes for traditional foods, the meaning of "gelt," and a virtual dreidel game. Chag sameach! (Happy holidays!) From the Jewish Outreach Institute.
Straight No Chaser - 12 Days
Kwanzaa is celebrated on December 26 by the lighting of the first candle on a candleholder called the kinara.
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday about the festival of the first harvest of the crops. It begins on December 26, and lasts for seven days. The name Kwanzaa, sometimes spelled Kwanza, comes from a phrase which means "first fruits" in Swahili, an East African language. Kwanzaa ties African-Americans to their roots. Also see The Official Kwanzaa Web Site includes a greeting from Dr. Maulana Karenga, who created Kwanzaa.
Winter Solstice Hundreds of years ago, in a Roman culture celebrated its major festival on the Winter Solstice. When Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar in Rome, the festival fell on December 25, a date that was retained for many years. About 1600 years ago, Pope Julius I chose this date for Christmas in order to replace the pagan tradition with a Christian one.
Many Christmas traditions, including the Yule log, evergreen, and mistletoe are rooted in ancient Yule traditions.
