The House Without Lights

Reem Faruqi’s “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨” is a must-read this festive season for it reminds us gently that not everyone celebrates Christmas. Lights are associated with many festivals and if you come across a house without lights during the dominant festival in your region, it could well be because the family celebrates another festival and has lights another time of the year.

When I read this book to a Grade 3 class, it got them thinking and the discussion veered towards being mindful of the greeting for the festive season. A few students remarked that they indeed do not celebrate Christmas and hence “Happy Holidays” was preferred over Merry Christmas! Another observed how some adults always use the term “Winter Break” when school is out, but since there’s no ‘winter’ in Singapore, why not just say “holidays”!

The beauty of the book lies in the conversations it can evoke and the immense possibilities of using it across grade levels.