Holidays Around the World

We enjoy celebrating holidays from around the world—and books are one of our favorite ways to do it! Below, you’ll find book lists for holidays and celebrations ranging from the oft-overlooked Earth Day to the many ways the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated across Asia.

Explore our Holiday Book Lists and Christmas Studies:

Holiday Book Lists

Christmas Studies

Book Lists: Holidays Around the World

Diverse Celebrations for October 31: Halloween and Reformation DayOctober 27, 2025
We are once again diving into the history of Halloween! And this year, we found another significant event that occurred on October 31: Reformation Day.
Books on the Origin of Valentine’s DayFebruary 10, 2025
Let’s talk about the origin of Valentine’s Day. One of my favorite ways to make geography and history relevant is to explore the origin stories of our holidays.
What is Rosh Hashanah? Diverse Books to readOctober 13, 2024
I grew up in a school district with many Jewish teachers and students, but that didn’t mean I had a clear idea of the significance. So, what is Rosh Hashanah?
When did Earth Day Begin? 2 Important EventsApril 18, 2024
The origins of various holidays is always of special interest to me. I found these two picture books on the origins of Earth Day, both published in 2023! Surprisingly, they do not tell the same story.
Celebrate Purim with Baking, Books, and BeyondMarch 22, 2024
In 2024, Jewish people begin to celebrate Purim at sunset on March 23. These are the ways in which we, as a Christian family, learned about Purim this year!
Books For Spring: Celebrate Diverse Holidays Around the WorldMarch 5, 2024
Learn about cultural and religious festivals and holidays around the world this spring, from Ireland to India, Guatemala to Japan. Here’s our lineup of reads for the month of March
A Dinosaur and Dragon Themed Birthday PartyFebruary 23, 2024
My youngest is really into dinosaurs and dragons right now! I threw him a Dinosaur themed party for his 7th birthday. The previous week, I had already thrown him a Lord of the Rings themed party with my side of the family. I would have preferred to only prepare one party, but I figured his… Read more: A Dinosaur and Dragon Themed Birthday Party
Lunar New Year Books Around the World: My RecommendationsFebruary 2, 2024
Lunar New Year Booklist I never knew the Lunar New Year traditions until recently. But… you’re Chinese/Taiwanese! It’s true. But I learned the traditions by reading to my kids, starting just a few years ago with our study of China. Keep reading for my favorite Lunar New Year books! Here’s why I’ve remained in the… Read more: Lunar New Year Books Around the World: My Recommendations
Top 5 Books About Thanksgiving in Indigenous AmericaNovember 15, 2023
This year, we’ve been focused on American History, including the study of indigenous American tribes. Here are books about Thanksgiving in America, gleaned from various booklists on my blog. AND we’ve been continuing our country studies (currently central Africa), so finding the last book about harvest days around the world has been perfect! So…there are… Read more: Top 5 Books About Thanksgiving in Indigenous America
Stories from the New England Native American TribesOctober 7, 2023
We dove into these stories from New England native american tribes of the Wampanoag and Narragansett peoples along with our study of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. According to Legends of America, the New England Algonquian tribes “include Mohegan, Pequot, Narragansett, Wampanoag, Massachusett, Nipmuc, Pennacook, Abenaki, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy.” I will post books from the Algonquian… Read more: Stories from the New England Native American Tribes
Read Around the World: Books for Earth DayApril 16, 2023
Earth Day has become a global celebration of community efforts to clean up our environment and live in a cleaner way. The beginnings of this environmental movement is usually attributed to American Rachel Carson. One of my favorite things to do is to make science connections in our geography and world studies lessons. There are… Read more: Read Around the World: Books for Earth Day
Cherry Blossom Books, from Japan to the USApril 8, 2023
This is one of my favorite times of the year! I grew up near Washington, D.C. where the Cherry Blossom Festival is celebrated for a whole month. This year, as the cherry blossoms began to open up on the cherry trees in our yard, we read these cherry blossom books. One of our favorite aspects… Read more: Cherry Blossom Books, from Japan to the US
Books to Learn about Irish American Culture and ImmigrationMarch 14, 2023
All the Irish people I know are super proud of their Irish heritage. So it was surprising when my friend recently found out that she has Irish heritage! Her grandmother had hidden that fact from the family. We had lots of interesting thoughts and comments about discrimination, race and assimilation. Naturally, I then wanted to… Read more: Books to Learn about Irish American Culture and Immigration
Mid-Autumn Festival: Learning How to Make MooncakesSeptember 29, 2021
The Backstory In most Asian countries, Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated by eating mooncakes. There are a few different styles of mooncakes, and the most common one is the Cantonese style that is stamped with a beautiful design. This year, we learned how to make mooncakes! The Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated in most Asian countries at… Read more: Mid-Autumn Festival: Learning How to Make Mooncakes