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November 19, 1999/10 Kislev 5760, Vol. 52, No.12
Craft activity can help make holiday special
REBECCA E. KOTKIN
Special to Jewish News
Family lore on my mother's side tells of how my great-grandmother brought three special items with her when she immigrated to America from Eastern Europe: brass Shabbat candlesticks, her samovar (an urn used to boil water for tea) and a mortar and pestle. These were eventually bequeathed to her three grandchildren.
My mother received the candlesticks, and they are prominently displayed on my parents' living room mantle. (I think she really wanted the samovar, but my uncle wouldn't trade).
As Thanksgiving approaches, images of Americana loom large. Our children come home with school lessons about pilgrims, the Mayflower, Native Americans, difficult winters and a celebratory feast. They appropriately embrace the Thanksgiving story as their history - a part of a shared American culture to which we are proud to belong. After all, our immigrant parents, grandparents or great-grandparents hoped that their progeny would be wholly American, that their children would enjoy a better life than they would have faced had they stayed in their country of origin.
Our immigrant ancestors were pilgrims, too. They almost invariably left a country where their views, lifestyles or religious beliefs were not tolerated. They left in search of better opportunity. They left to come to a "New World" where, they hoped, things would be better. They brought little with them.
There are a number of craft projects that involve creating family mementos, items such as candlesticks, wine cups or spice boxes that are used every week, but are also special in their holiness.
The following project is a spice box used at havdalah (service ending the Sabbath). As you work with your child on crafting a spice box, consider discussing these topics:
There are many different kinds of pilgrims, not just those who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. While American history is very important, personal family history is important, too. Share stories of your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, as far back as you know. Make a plan to ask other relatives what they know about family no longer living.
What items are most special to you? What items are most special to your children? If you were leaving this country for a new life in another place, what would you bring?
I would probably bring photographs; special jewelry from my husband; a bracelet handed down from my great aunt; candlesticks my mother gave me; letters and mementos from my childhood. Also, I would have to bring the decorated spice box my children made on a Thanksgiving past.
What would my children choose? How would they choose what to bring if they could only pack one suitcase? As an extra activity, try packing that suitcase and see how much of "home" you could bring with you if you made a pilgrimage to a new land.
Decorated Spice Box
- old jewelry box or other small white box with lid
- glue
- water
- paintbrush
- assorted colors of tissue paper
- sequins, pompoms or other decorating scraps
- cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or other fragrant spices
Dilute the glue with a little water and paint the surface of the box and the lid with the mixture. Tear the tissue paper into small pieces and cover the box and its lid, overlapping any way you choose. Allow it to dry.
Glue on sequins, pompoms or other decorating scraps to make the spice box truly unique.
Punch small holes in the lid of the box and sprinkle the spices inside.
Rebecca E. Kotkin is a contributing editor to the online magazine Jewish Family & Life!, www.jewishfamily.com, which originally published this column. It was distributed to member newspapers by Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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