Norman nodded at Blaze's answer. Well, that was not the direction the thought this conversation was headed but not wrong either. “Correct, Miss Blaze,” he said. “Bonfire Night dates back to November 5, 1605. It originated as a celebration of Guy Fawkes’s arrest for his part in an attempt on King James I’s life.” That was the best historical context he could provide without delving into anything too dark.



Had Norman known what Fox was thinking, he would’ve assured her that he wasn’t lying. The holidays were a bad reminder of what he’d lost, but he always survived it. This year would be no different, so yes, he was okay. Instead he focused on her answer. “Yes, that’s a popular holiday tradition,” he said. That reminded him he needed to mail his daughter’s Christmas gifts after this lesson, just in case something happened to prevent him from giving them to her himself. “Very good, Miss Fox!”



Nichols’s answer got a small smile from Norman. Oh yes, he was quite familiar with that tradition, having built quite a few snowmen himself in his youth… but his students didn’t need to know that about him. “Another popular holiday tradition,” he said. “Some people in parts of the world where it doesn’t snow participate in this tradition by making “men” out of other materials available to them, like sand, stones, or even plants. Thank you, Miss Nichols.”



Once again, Nam’s answer was right on the money. Norman nodded, smiling slightly. “Correct, Mr. Nam,” he replied. “There are many ways that people decorate for the holidays.” But he’d come back to that a bit later.



Norman returned Donovan’s smile with a slight one of his own, and that smile remained as he listened to her answer. “Yes, most families do,” he said, nodding - including his own. Well, back when he had a family large enough to hold a dinner anyway. He mentally shook himself, willing himself not to think about that. “Very good, Miss Donovan.”



At first Norman thought Mordaunt’s answer was going to go in the same direction as Donovan’s until the boy mentioned games. “That luncheon sounds quite fancy,” he said. As a matter of fact, it sounded like the sort of thing his in-laws would have hosted… if they’d ever liked him enough to include him. Never mind, moving on… “Thank you, Mr. Mordaunt. Do you have a favorite board game that you and your family play?”



Norman wasn’t sure whether to be amused or confused by James’s response. Frankly, he was more inclined to agree with the girl’s father on that matter. Food was more important than a snowball, even one named Jerry, but he saw no reason to point that out and dampen her enthusiasm. “I’ve never thought of that before,” he said, and that wasn’t a lie. Suddenly an idea occurred to him. “Maybe there’s a way to keep both. It sounds to me that Jerry needs his own freezer. You could build one…” A potential design was already forming in his mind, but he’d come back to that later. For now he needed to stay on track. “Very good, Miss James.”



Apparently that settled the matter of what was most important. Norman nodded his approval of Cambridge’s thoughts. “That sounds like a fun tradition, Miss Cambridge,” he said… and not too far removed from his own too. “It’s always nice to be included, isn’t it?”



Ah, yes, the Yule Log. Norman supposed it was only a matter of time before someone brought that up. While he’d heard of that tradition before, it was not one that he’d experienced for himself. Nonetheless he nodded approvingly at Blackthorne’s answer. “A fun tradition indeed,” he said. “Thank you, Miss Blackthorne.”



For the record, Norman didn’t mind chatting before class. His thoughts were deep enough that idle conversation wouldn’t disturb them, but that was beside the point now. Rivers’s answer got a smile from him. Her holiday tradition sounded a lot like something his daughter would do; Normandie was always dragging him along to shops whenever she visited! “Sounds like quite the learning experience,” he said. “Thank you, Miss Rivers. As a matter of interest, do you have a favorite market that you’ve visited?”



Here was a tradition Norman hadn’t expected to hear, but it was no less correct. “Very good, Miss Wolff,” he said. “If I recall correctly, Krampus is meant to dissuade bad behavior by scaring children.” Among other things… but he’d leave it at that because he, unlike Krampus, didn’t want to scare the students.

Originally Posted by list

Holiday traditions
Bonfire Night
Exchanging gifts
Building snowmen
Holiday decorating
Dinner, party, or luncheon
Games
Snowball in freezer
Catching up with family
Yule Log
Holiday markets/baazars
Nikolaustag