I asked around to find out the origin of Children's Day. No one knows. Mr. Google has several suggestions each with a grand and noble purpose. One suggests the day was initiated by a pastor in the States who called for a day to bring all children into the church to be blessed. That sounds like a great idea. I don't see anything of that here. Another suggestion is that as a result of the first "World Conference for the Well-being of Children" each country was called on to designate a day to celebrate their children. Somehow, Canada missed out on that holiday. After 7 or 8 years here, I think what Children's Day actually reminds me of is the commercial celebration of Christmas in North America. The kids are just as excited for Children's Day here as kids in North America are for Christmas.
Schools provide a gathering place for the kids to come to celebrate their day and teachers are the ringmasters. The kids do not need to wear their uniforms or bring books. There are no classes - just a day of celebrating. I can't imagine spending a whole day of school with a class playing games and eating! I guess that's why there is Teachers' Day at the end of next week..... At our local public school, parents were asked to send 100 lempiras for each child (about $5). The kids went to school at the regular time - 7:00 am or 1:00 pm and for 5 hours played games and ate chicken and candy. For their money, students received a box of Bojangles chicken and fries (like KFC only much better - everyone like Bojangles!) and a toy. Several classes had piñata smashing if a parent brought in a piñata.
The glitch in the school celebration is of course that some families could not afford the 100 lempiras for each child in the family, so for these kids, they did not go to school, and they were not feted - sad.
The kids we know at ALFA school were also looking forward to Children's Day. Now, you have to understand, our youngest child is in grade 6 - our children are getting older but they don't want to give up the opportunity to celebrate. Our oldest, Oscar, is in grade 11. He was lamenting that his mom would only give him part of the money he needed to join his class on a special trip. I told him his moaning was wrong for many reasons. The kids know that Larry and I do not pay for things for Children's Day. However, Karla reasoned that making potato salad for 12 was not the same. How can I argue with that reasoning?
This year I joined the group at Casa de Luz as they celebrated with their students. The kids had already had a morning of celebrating at school. Now for the afternoon, they enjoyed hotdogs (in Spanish? perros caliente - dogs hot - makes me laugh!!), chips and juice and more games at their afternoon English school. With their guest, they played games culminating in - - - the piñata smashing. Jamie, the school director, came prepared. She had plastic bags for each child and two piñatas - one for girls and one for boys. She also had 30 pounds of candy! With sixty kids it's not hard to calculate how that ended! Each child also went home with a gift bag of dollar store toys. It's all about the kids on Children's Day!
Schools were not the only game in town. Up at the Clinic, the bouncy castle had been brought in to the delight of kids waiting to see a doctor. That sure is the ultimate doctor waiting "room" activity!
I remember asking Juan a few years ago about Children's Day. I can't remember his response - just the dreamy look he got thinking about it. Obviously, the magic of Children's Day endures. Today I was asking Victor about the plans his family had for Children's Day now that they live on the Mainland. He explained to me that his family will celebrate with extended family in the town down the road - tomorrow (Children's Day 3?). But, he won't be going because he is too old. Since he is the same age as Oscar, I think it is a personal decision when you become "too old".
While probably the original reason for instituting a special day to celebrate the children of this country was grand and noble, it is hard to see much of nobility in the celebrations with games and candy. We know children who live in conditions that are not noble and children with self-esteem issues that will shape their adult lives. Celebrating kids should be a priority - with every child knowing every day is Children's Day. Woo-hoo! Bring on the piñatas - filled with carrot sticks and mangos.
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