Feasts and festivals - Jacqueline Dineen

As this book takes children on a whistle-stop tour of carnivals and festivals around the world, they can watch how people celebrate special days. They can see how people celebrate the New Year, the coming of Spring and the Summer Solstice. They can learn about specialised ceremonies such as the Chinese tomb-sweeping festival in April and February's Holi. They can also find out why people in south America go into the mountains at midsummer to watch the sun come up, and about the Hindu Festival of Lights.;This is part of a series which paints a picture of the age-old traditions that govern our lives. Life's turning points, such as naming, coming of age, getting married and dying are celebrated in different ways around the world. It should help children to form a better understanding of other cultures and their practices, see the underlying likenesses in different customs, and learn a tolerance of others so necessary in a multicultural society.