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Report on SmartGirls Celebrate Around the World
Smart girls decide for themselves™.
We love to celebrate here at SmartGirl, so we wanted to know if all the SmartGirls out there love to celebrate too! We created this survey to find out about your favorite holiday, different types of holiday, community celebrations, other cultures' celebrations, and more. Read on to find out who, what, when, where, and how SmartGirls celebrate around the world!
Note: The numbers in parentheses below refer to the number of SmartGirl respondents.
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We asked, and SmartGirls answered! Two hundred and eighty nine SmartGirls participated in this survey. The majority of survey respondents were girls (278) but there were some boys (5) as well. SmartGirls who responded to this survey were generally between the ages of 11 and 17 and were the oldest child in their family (114). Although the majority of SmartGirls identified as having European descent as their racial/ethnic background (106), SmartGirls also identified as having Asian descent (30), African descent (29), Native American descent (16), Latin American descent (12), or Oceania/Pacific Islander descent (5). Twenty-five SmartGirls identified as multiracial. The majority of SmartGirls who responded to this survey live in a town (90). SmartGirls from around the world participated in this survey about celebrations around the world. Although the majority of respondents were from the United States (155), SmartGirls responded from England, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, Singapore, and more!
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| Ethnicity of SmartGirls |
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| SmartGirls identified their own ethnicities from around the world. |
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SmartGirls love to celebrate around the world. Of all the SmartGirls who responded to this survey, Christmas (207) is by far their favorite holiday to celebrate. The majority of SmartGirls said that their favorite holiday is celebrated during the winter season (115) and in many other cultures (133). SmartGirls also enjoy celebrating birthdays (134), New Year's (87), and Easter (84). SmartGirls' favorite part of their favorite holiday is to spend time with their family (83). SmartGirls also enjoy the general feeling of their favorite holiday (44), getting presents (26), and going to parties or festivals (21). Forty-one SmartGirls said that there is some other aspect of their favorite holiday that they love but that we did not include in our survey. What do you think those may be? Some SmartGirls even said that their favorite holiday is only celebrated in their country (38) or town (35). Overall, there are a wide range of holidays that SmartGirls like to celebrate in a variety of ways, throughout the seasons and around the world, including April Fool's Day, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Ramadan, and many more!
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| What time of year do SmartGirls celebrate their favorite holiday? |
Favorite Holiday
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Christmas | Birthdays | New Years | Easter | [row totals] |
Time of Year
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| Spring |
8 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 37 |
| Summer |
24 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 63 |
| Autumn |
8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Winter |
101 | 36 | 26 | 22 | 185 |
| Multiple Seasons |
40 | 36 | 22 | 26 | 124 |
| Different Seasons |
6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
| Other |
12 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 42 |
| [column totals] |
199 | 129 | 85 | 80 | 493 |
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| SmartGirls celebrate their favorite holidays throughout the year. Do SmartGirls celebrate Christmas, Birthdays, New Years, or Easter at the same time of year that you do? Check out the table to see how holidays are celebrated during different seasons! |
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SmartGirls believe that it is very important (93) or important (81) to celebrate religious holidays. However, some SmartGirls believe it is only somewhat (60) or not very important (19) and others believe it is not important at all (21). SmartGirls also believe the most important types of holidays to celebrate are those that celebrate a religious figure (75) or a religious story (45). Therefore, SmartGirls generally celebrate some type of religious holiday during their lives. Although the majority of SmartGirls celebrate Christian holidays (213), SmartGirls also celebrate Jewish (15), Buddhist (12), Hindu (11), Amindian (11), Islamic (8), Pagan (6), Sikh (4), and Zoroastrian (3) holidays.
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In contrast to the celebration of religious holidays, SmartGirls believe it is important (88) or somewhat important (80) to celebrate national holidays. Some SmartGirls believe it is not very important (44) or not important at all (14). Only 39 SmartGirls believe it is very important. In addition to religious figures and stories, SmartGirls said that it is important to celebrate ancient traditions (29), the independence of their country (26), wars (18), and legends (12). Forty-two SmartGirls said that there is something else that they believe is important to celebrate. What do you think those may be? SmartGirls wrote in to tell us what national holidays they celebrate in their part of the world. The most common responses were April Fool's Day and Independence Days. It looks like SmartGirls like to laugh and love their country! Many SmartGirls also shared that they like to celebrate Mother's Day, New Years, and Thanksgiving. Some less common but interesting responses included Groundhog's Day, Women's Rights Day, and Children's Day. Do you know when and where those holidays are celebrated?
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How do SmartGirls feel about the importance of celebrating religious holidays versus national holidays? The following two bar graphs show the different levels of importance SmartGirls reported in regards to religious and national holidays. Which ones are more important to SmartGirls overall?
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| Religious Holidays |
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| National Holidays |
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Once again, SmartGirls shared that their country's most important holiday celebrates an important religious figure (97) or religious story (60). SmartGirls also said that their country celebrates its independence (21), legends, (9), wars (9), the beginning or end of an event or festival (10), or ancient traditions (5). Twenty-two SmartGirls had other types of holidays their country celebrates and 12 SmartGirls did not have an important holiday in their country. Similar to what SmartGirls said was their favorite part of their favorite holiday, SmartGirls said that the most frequent tradition associated with their country's most important holiday is spending time with family (193). SmartGirls also said that their country's most important holiday involves giving gifts (190), having feasts (138), attending parades (101), staying up late (99), participating in religious practices (98), playing games (97), or attending festivals (95). These holidays also include decorating, parties, and fireworks!
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Although SmartGirls identified important holidays in their country, the majority of SmartGirls (96) could not identify a celebration that only occurs in their city or town. However, some SmartGirls shared that these unique celebrations involve celebrating religious figures (48), special events (42), someone who made an impact on the community (41), ancient traditions (40), a famous person (39), or the beginning or end of an event or practice (65).
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| Holidays Around the World Celebrate... |
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| SmartGirls reported that their country's most important holiday celebrates a variety of different people, places, and events. Where does your country's most important holiday fit into this pie chart? |
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As you probably already figured out, SmartGirls like to celebrate! The majority of SmartGirls celebrate more than four holidays each year. Although SmartGirls are likely to be celebrating something, they are not as likely to celebrate these holidays in their schools. Only 46 SmartGirls said that they always celebrate holidays in schools. The majority of SmartGirls reported that they only sometimes celebrate holidays in schools (150). Some SmartGirls said that they rarely (48) or never (14) celebrate holidays in schools. Although SmartGirls are not always celebrating these holidays in schools, they are celebrating with their families! According to SmartGirls, family traditions are very important (82) or important (77) to them. Overall, SmartGirls put in a lot of time (62) or some time (131) to prepare for holiday celebrations. However, some SmartGirls put in little time (48) or no time at all (10).
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| SmartGirls Prepare to Celebrate |
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| SmartGirls spend different amounts of time preparing to celebrate! According to the bar chart, SmartGirls generally spend some time preparing for holiday celebrations. |
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SmartGirls generally believe that they know a great deal about celebrations of a culture other than their own (157). How do SmartGirls know so much? They read books (145), search the internet (138), learn in school (133), talk to parents (129), watch television (114), talk to friends (94), watch movies (82), talk to teachers (65), and travel the world (36). Although SmartGirls are likely to know about other cultures' celebrations, they are less likely to actually participate in a celebration of a culture other than their own. The majority of SmartGirls rarely (106) or never (52) participate in these celebrations. However, 71 SmartGirls participate some of the time and 24 SmartGirls participate all of the time.
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Do SmartGirls feel excluded from celebrations of cultures' other than their own? Not really. The majority of SmartGirls rarely (108) or never (70) feel excluded while some SmartGirls sometimes (54) or always (21) feel excluded. For those SmartGirls who do feel excluded, it is most likely due to their culture (108), religion (98), or age (81). Some SmartGirls also feel excluded because of where they live (46) or because of their gender (24) or sexuality (12). Twenty-eight SmartGirls had other reasons for feeling excluded from celebrations of cultures other than their own. Why are some other reasons they may feel this way?
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| SmartGirls Learn about Other Cultures' Celebrations |
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| SmartGirls generally believe that they know about other cultures' celebrations. This bar chart illustrates where SmartGirls get their information. Where would you go to learn about other cultures' celebrations? |
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SmartGirls hope to travel around the world and participate in many different holiday celebrations. SmartGirls would like to honor the dead in Mexico, eat a Thanksgiving feast in the United States, and watch dragon dances in China. Read on to learn about these incredible holiday celebrations and more!
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~ I would go to Mexico to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a holiday in Mexico that honors the dead relatives of people. During the holiday, people go to graveyards and put things on their loved ones graves, like maybe their favorite food or something that they liked. This holiday seems interesting to me because it honors the dead and instead of making you feel sad, I think it makes you remember good things about your dead loved ones. If I ever go to Mexico, I will make sure to either learn more about this holiday or even participate in the rituals that go into this holiday.
~ I would like to celebrate an Amazonian tribe celebration because I find them fascinating and they live so differently from us. I would find it truly wonderful!
~ I want to celebrate Children's Day in Japan! It's a special day that used to be just to honor sons, but now it's for all the kids. Each family flies carp flags on a flagpole up above their house, one carp for each child. The wind blowing makes the carp look like it's swimming upstream. I think it's great because the parents are proud of their children.
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~ I would go to Spain to take part in their Easter week celebrations. I remember seeing a video in Spanish class, and learning that the way they celebrated was a mix of traditional religion and modern life. I liked it.
~ I'd love to go to some of the flamboyant Spanish festivals. I think the Spanish Dia del Libro y la Rosa is very romantic; In Spain, on Valentine's Day, men give their sweethearts a rose and women give them a book. The Feria del Cordoba, a flamenco festival, is also supposed to be spectacular.
~ I would travel to Israel for Yom Kippur. That is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people, and I feel a strong connection to the Jewish people when I am in Israel. That is partially why I am moving to Jerusalem next year!
~ I would stay at my own house for my favorite celebration: Christmas! I like it so much because it was the day that Jesus was born! Thanks a lot for the survey!
~ I would love to travel to the U.S or Canada and experience Halloweens. It must be really cool to be able to dress up in costumes and go trick or treating in the night!
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~ If I could travel anywhere in the world to take part in any celebration I would stay right here in the United States because it is just perfect here already. There are so many different customs and holidays that you are able to participate in. I mainly love Christmas even though I'm not Christian. It's so interesting and fun because you get to share your joy with everyone else and just have fun. You get presents and there's a mistletoe thing. It's a time to think about what you've done over the past year (since it's celebrated near the end of the year). You take this time to have fun and just?have a Merry Christmas.
~ I'd like to go to China for Chinese New Year and the Moon Cake Festival. Although we celebrate it here, it's more authentic to celebrate it in China where they have firecrackers, dragon dances, and moon cake games.
~ I would go to Hawaii and celebrate Hajj which is the festival of lights. I would join because I would love to explore something new.
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~ The Chinese New Year is the most important celebration. A few weeks before the celebration, people buy plants, flower displays, and paintings etc. Hong Kong is decorated with bright colourful lights and decorations. It is a time of paying all debts and good deeds toward family and friends. Prayer is offered to the Chinese god Tso Kwan, who reports on the behavior of the people over the past year. The New Year is spent with friends and family worshiping gods. The people buy new clothes and shoes to symbolize the New Year. They exchange red packets containing small amounts of money. The overall festival consists of 15 days. On the 15th day, a festival of 3 days starts. It is the festival of lanterns. Lanterns that have the symbols of good fortune, happiness, etc. are bought and hung in the peoples' homes. Throughout the whole festival, "Lion" dances are performed. It is the paper mache head and a brightly coloured train. The lion passes through every emotion - happiness, sorrow, etc.
~ I would want to celebrate the feast of Santa Lucia in Sweden. It sounds like a lot of fun!
~ I would visit Japan for Hanamatsuri, or the Flower Festival, celebrating the birth of Buddha. Millions of Japanese visit the blossoming cherry trees and celebrate Buddha and nature. It sounds very peaceful and beautiful.
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~ I would travel to Sweden to celebrate St. Lucia Day. St. Lucia is the queen of lights. It is celebrated on the 13th of December in Sweden, the longest night of the year. This is a Christian celebration. On St. Lucia Day, there is a ceremony with the St. Lucia procession. St. Lucia leads the group. Schools elect one girl to be Lucia. She wears a long, white tunic with a red sash and a wreath of real candles on her head. Her procession wears white tunics and holds candles in their hands. They sing traditional carols. Lussekatt buns and gingerbread cookies are served for this special Swedish holiday.
~ I would love to celebrate either Easter Sunday or Christmas Day in the Vatican. This would be great because I am very Roman Catholic and it would be amazing to celebrate a mass held by the Pope!
~ The Perehara in Sri Lanka. It is a Hindu and Buddhist festival and there is a big parade with elephants, fire throwers, dancers, and music. I love it because it is so lively and fun and it makes you feel a real part of the Sri Lankan culture. I am half Sri Lankan.
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~ I would go to the U.S. so I could take part in Thanksgiving. I think it would be so much fun to sit around a table, going around asking all the people what they are thankful for and sharing all the great food: rich cranberry sauce, the juiciest turkey, the stuffing (which my mother would make from scratch, of course), and for dessert, all those delicious trifles made up from layers of strawberry jam, yummy custard, ladyfingers (whatever they are), and all topped off with a swirl of whipped cream. The story is really nice too. It just shows you that even years and years ago, people knew the meaning of being a good neighbour, even to perfect strangers. All the decorations would be beautiful: red and brown streamers, fancy curtains pulled over the windows so to get that pink-orange tinge around the room, a sparkly thing held up to the little bohemian lights so they send off millions of little pieces of glitter all around the room.
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After all the celebrations, all of the family would be groaning because they ate way too much. All of the children playing out in the garden, running about in the back garden, chasing little animals and playing with the dog. That's when a single snowflake falls, twirling out of the sky, and lands on one of the children's tongue. Many others then follow the snowflake and the children start dancing around it. And soon they are playing snowball fights and building snowmen, witnessed by the snow angels made in the fallen snow. Inside the adults are dancing to the music that they listened to 'in their day.' And then the minutes turn into hours and it's time to leave. The children are too tired to complain, many drowsy and falling asleep in their parents arms as they are picked up and put gently into their cars so as not to disturb them. The adults say their final goodbyes.
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As the cars disappear, the owner of the house waves them away. She goes inside as the last car disappears from sight. As the owner goes back into the living room, she stops for a second at the door and a smile creases up onto her face. Her children have all fallen asleep on the sofa, all scrunched up together keeping each other warm. The dad is already in there, putting a blanket over them, seeing no sense in waking them. The man walks towards the mother, smiles back at her, puts his arm around her, and they walk up the stairs together to get some much needed sleep before the events of tomorrow come.
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~ I would like to go to New York to see the ball drop for the New Year. I like it because as soon as it becomes a new year, people go to see a ball drop at 12:00 pm. I have seen it on television, but never in person.
~ I would participate in Cinco de Mayo, in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo is an important day for Mexicans because it is the anniversary of their independence. The celebration is one of music, food, many activities, dancing, and color. It lasts all day and well into the night. This would be a great holiday to experience.
~ I would travel to New Orleans to take part in the Mardi Gras celebration there because it is so elaborate. I learned about Mardi Gras in my French class and it seems like a really cool holiday. All the different ways people celebrate Mardi Gras makes it a very versatile holiday. There are so many different activities to take part in for Mardi Gras, especially in New Orleans which is the Mardi Gras home.
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with us!
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