As I mentioned Wednesday, there are few better ways to introduce secular kids to a little theology than by using religious holidays as your guides. And there is no better month to start doing this than October. Because holy shit, people — this month has a lot of holidays. One might even call it a holiday orgasm! Well, you wouldn’t, probably. But that’s only because you’re not a boring blogger trying to bait people with sexy headlines. That, and you are just a better person in general.

Anyway, here’s a quick run-down on the first five of this month’s major religious holidays, along with one very simple thing you can do or say to make each holiday an educational experience for your kid.

Oct. 2-5: Hajj Day (Islam)

The Muslim’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca. (One of the Seven Pillars of Islam is to attend Hajj at least once in your life.) It’s pronounced “Hodge.” You can read what I’ve written about it here.

WHAT TO DO: Show your child a picture of the Kabaa, the box-like building in the middle of Mecca. Explain that Muslims pray toward the Kabaa five times a day and then, once a year, millions of them visit it in person. Then maybe show them the live feed streaming on youtube. It’s pretty cool.

Oct. 3-4: Yom Kippur (Judaism)

The “Day of Atonement” for the Jewish people. Hugely important. Pronounced “Yom Ki-POOR.” You can read my summary of Yom Kippur here.

WHAT TO DO: Tell your child that Yom Kippur is the most important holiday in the Jewish religion. Explain that it is a day that Jews drink no food or water and spend a lot of time thinking about all the things they have done wrong and could do better in the future. Tell them that the point of all this is to be forgiven by God.

Oct. 3: Dussehra (Hinduism)

A celebration of the triumph of good over evil (a common theme in Hinduism). Pronounced “DUCE-eh-ra.” Get the low-down here.

WHAT TO DO: Tell your child that Hinduism is a religion that has many, many different gods and that the most famous story in all of Hinduism involves a prince named Rama and a princess named Sita. Here’s the short version, complements of Activity Village:

Once upon a time there was a great warrior, Prince Rama, who had a beautiful wife named Sita.

There was also a terrible demon king, Ravana. He had twenty arms and ten heads, and was feared throughout the land. He wanted to make Sita his wife, and one day he kidnapped her and took her away in his chariot. Clever Sita left a trail of her jewellery for Rama to follow.

Rama followed the trail of glittering jewellery until he met the monkey king, Hanuman, who became his friend and agreed to help find Sita. Messages were sent to all the monkeys in the world, and through them to all the bears, who set out to find Sita.

After a very long search, Hanuman found Sita imprisoned on an island. Rama’s army of monkeys and bears couldn’t reach the island, so they began to build a bridge. Soon all the animals of the world, large and small, came to help. When the bridge was built, they rushed across it and fought a mighty battle.

When Rama killed the evil Ravana with a magic arrow, the whole world rejoiced. Rama and Sita began their long journey back to their land, and everybody lit oil lamps to guide them on their way and welcome them back.

Ever since, people light lamps at Diwali to remember that light triumphs over dark and good triumphs over evil.



Oct. 4: St. Francis Day (Christianity)

Celebration of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment.

WHAT TO DO: Show your child a picture or painting of St. Francis. Point out the “halo,” signifying that Francis was a saint, and then define saints as people who were considered to be so good and kind and faithful during their lifetimes that they received this special title after they died. People who believe in saints believe they are in direct communication with God, not unlike angels, so they often are pictured with halos. Many religions have “saints,” although they do not call them that. St. Francis, the most popular Christian saint, is often connected to animals because he i said to have loved them so much during his lifetime.

Oct. 4-5: Eid-al-Adha (Islam)

Celebrates the end of Hajj, and commemorates the Biblical story of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac for God. Pronounced “Eed-el-AH-da.” I wrote about it here.

WHAT TO DO: If your child is already familiar with Christmas, describe Eid as the Muslim Christmas, which is sort of is—lots of feasting and gift-giving and almsgiving and festivities. Play some Egyptian music on Pandora. Show a picture, like this one, of Muslims getting together to celebrate. (Remember, the headpieces are called hijab (pronounced “HEE-job.”)