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Richmond Jewish Day School recently hosted an event focusing on wintertime celebrations in different cultures and religions.

Photo by Hannah Scott

Richmond Christian School students shared the traditions of Advent, including a candle craft.

Photo by Hannah Scott

Students from four different schools worked together on crafts including this Ramadan-themed lantern.

Photo by Hannah Scott

Jewish school hosts interfaith event for students

By Hannah Scott

Published 2:34 PST, Fri December 16, 2022

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Richmond students came together to share wintertime celebrations in different cultures and religions at the recent “Shine a Light” event.

The event, hosted last week by Richmond Jewish Day School, also included city councillors, community members, and students from three other “Highway to Heaven” schools: Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy, Cornerstone Christian Academy, and Richmond Christian School. In all, more than 20 cultural institutions sit on the “Highway to Heaven,” a stretch of No. 5 Road known for its diverse houses of worship.

“The spirit of this celebration (is) to share winter customs, such as those practiced during Hanukkah and Christmas, that build into our individual identities,” said Richmond Jewish Day School principal Sabrina Bhojani. “By providing a safe and educational learning environment, we hope to create an environment to improve understanding about different cultures thereby encouraging people and institutions to work together and share responsibility for addressing racism, discrimination, and antisemitism.”

This year’s event built on an evening event held during Hanukkah last year, where members of the “Highway to Heaven” community were invited. This year, the format was changed to create a more kid-friendly celebration, Bhojani says.

Students from all four schools participated in activities, including singing, stories, games, and crafts, that showcased different winter traditions.

Richmond Jewish Day School students shared stories about the meaning of Hanukkah and the tradition of Hanukkah gelt (money), then taught other students to play dreidel.

“A huge part of the holiday of Hanukkah revolves around food,” explained one student.

Foods fried in oil are commonly eaten to recognize the small quantity of oil that miraculously burned for eight days. At the end of the event, students sampled sufganiyah, jelly donuts deep-fried in oil and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Cornerstone Christian Academy students shared about the meaning of the star, which symbolizes goodness, divine leadership, and the light of Jesus in the Christian faith. Then all students made their own star craft to take home.

Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy students talked about Ramadan, which begins in March 2023. During this month-long holiday, Muslims fast, pray, and focus on devotion or generosity; at the end of the month of fasting, Eid al-Fitr is a time to feast and visit with family and friends. Students made lantern crafts because of the traditional fanous lanterns, which symbolize Ramadan and represent guiding light.

Richmond Christian School students shared the traditions of Advent, a four-week celebration leading up to Christmas. Each of the four weeks has a theme: hope, love, joy, and peace. Students worked on candle crafts with pink and purple tissue paper to represent the colours of Advent candles. When the stained glass-inspired crafts are put in a window, light will shine through.

“May we illuminate the street and our beautiful city of Richmond through the warmth of unity,” said Bhojani at the event.