Our Holiday meeting took place on December 20th – a “Potluck” dinner and gift exchange. Our Potluck consisted of appetizers, entrees, veggies and desserts — a great selection, which included a German potato dish, French crepes, Czech Christmas cookies, among many other tasty treats! It was nice to get together just before the busy holidays that would soon be upon us — holiday dinners and celebrations, school vacations, and travel plans for some au pairs. 
Yearly Archives: 2012
Thanksgiving Day in the United States
Most au pairs will be experiencing their very first Thanksgiving celebration this year. Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to gather with family and friends for holiday meals. It is a time of giving thanks for all of our blessings. There will be football games and parades, but “feasting” is the most significant activity that occurs on Thanksgiving Day. The main food for the feast is roasted turkey with dressing, usually accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, cranberry sauce , fall vegetables and pumpkin pie.
History of Thanksgiving
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. The following website includes the history of thanksgiving and lots of activities that au pairs can enjoy with their children.
http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/
November Cluster Meeting -Thanksgiving Dinner
Our November cluster meeting, held on Friday, November 16, gave Rhode Island au pairs the opportunity to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal together — the menu consisted of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, apple pie, and hot mulled apple cider. It was a fun evening, and gave au pairs a preview of a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner prior to the November 22 Thanksgiving Holiday, which most au pairs plan to celebrate with their host families.
International Education Week – November 12 – 16, 2012
This important week, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of Education, is observed across the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world. It is always celebrated the week before the American Thanksgiving holiday. International Education Week is an opportunity for au pairs and exchange students to share with their host communities information about their culture, history, government, language, food, holidays school systems and traditions.
International Education week would be a great time for au pairs to volunteer to share their culture and customs with schools, libraries or other organizations in their local communities. American children and adults are always curious about other cultures and customs, and au pairs can provide them with a wealth of valuable, interesting information. For more information about International Education Week, visit their website: http://iew.state.gov/
Rhode Island Au pairs who would like assistance planning their presentation can refer to Au Pair in America’s Global Awareness Website or contact your community counselor.
Au Pairs who offer a cultural presentation during International Education Week will receive recognition on the IEW website and will receive a letter of appreciation from Au Pair in America.
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Columbus Day is celebrated in the USA on the second Monday in October. It is a day in which we celebrated Christopher Columbus’ trip from Spain to Hispaniola, North America in 1492. He was sent by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus’ crew sailed on the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus was looking for a faster route to the far east (Asia) in order to trade for valuable spices. Instead, he found North America, after sailing for five weeks. The ship Santa Maria sank in Hispaniola, but the Niña and the Pinta both made it back to Spain.
Annual Birthday Celebration for Rhode Island Au Pairs
Rhode Island au pairs celebrated all of their birthdays on September 29, at an annual birthday party/gift exchange. After the celebration, many au pairs spent the rest of the evening exploring the festivities at Waterfire Providence.
Wishing all of our Jewish host families, au pairs and friends a peaceful Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur also known as the Day of Atonement is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jewish people traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.
Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays and it is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.
This year Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Tuesday evening, September 25, and ends on Wednesday evening.
Here are a couple of links with more information:
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/yom-kippur
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/yomkippur.htm
and for children http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/yomkippur/yomkippur.php
Happy New Year!
Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish Holiday commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year. It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the high Holidays specifically set aside to focus on repentance that concludes with the holiday of Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar. It is the New Year for people, animals, and legal contracts. Jewish people believe Rosh Hashanah represents either analogically or literally the creation of the World, or Universe.
On Rosh Hashanah, Jewish people all over the world gather in synagogues to celebrate the day. The holiday is celebrated with sweet foods, like apples dipped in honey and honey cake and round Challot made with honey and raisins as a wish for a sweet year.
Here is a link to children’s games and activities to celebrate the holiday. It includes information, art projects, crafts, stories and recipes:
http://www.chabad.org/kids/article_cdo/aid/354744/jewish/Rosh-Hashanah.htm
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days, Monday September 17th and Tuesday September 18th. The two day holiday will begin at sundown on Sunday evening.
We wish all of our Jewish host families, au pairs, and friends a very Happy Holiday.
Commemorating the 11th Anniversary of 9/11
Many of our au pairs may be too young to remember this event, but it has become part of our American Culture. Here is a letter written by 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels commemorating the 11th Anniversary of 9/11:
September 11, 2012
Today, we honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were taken from us too soon eleven years ago. Here at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, we will read their names aloud. We will stand together in silence at six moments, marking when the Twin Towers were struck, the buildings fell, the Pentagon was attacked, and Flight 93 crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Together, we will remember the devastating loss and reflect on the preciousness of life.
How you choose to observe the 9/11 anniversary is personal. Whether through quiet reflection or prayer, acts of service, or sharing a message of remembrance through social media, please join me in memorializing those who were killed and the sacrifices made on this day eleven years ago.
Despite the unimaginable tragedy of 9/11 itself, this day is also about the spirit of unity that came in the aftermath. It showed us that the best of humanity can overcome the worst hate. It gave us hope for the future.
We now see hope every day at the 9/11 Memorial. We find hope in the Callery pear tree that survived the destruction of the World Trade Center and is now known around the world as the Survivor Tree, standing tall among the Memorial trees. The children who visit give us hope for the future. And we find undeniable strength in the fact that over 4.6 million people from all 50 states and 170 countries have come here to pay their respects since we opened the Memorial one year ago.
We will also see hope at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Thanks to an agreement forged by the 9/11 Memorial and our Chairman, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with Governor Andrew Cuomo, Governor Chris Christie, and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the construction of the Museum will move forward. When it opens, the Museum will be a place for education and inspiration. It will commemorate the lives lost, preserve the history of what happened on that terrible day and tell the stories of courage and compassion that were so much a part of the response to 9/11.
On this eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, please join me in remembering those who were lost and how we came together to honor them in the aftermath. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. The memories of their loved ones live on in our hearts and in the Memorial that bears their names. They will never be forgotten.
Warm regards,
Joe Daniels
President & CEO
Independence Day in the U.S.
Known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.