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| Kwokkie Doll is ready for Harmony Day |
It's "Harmony Day" and Kwokkie Doll is ready to participate!
Each year in March, our local schools use Harmony Day to celebrate the cultural diversity and heritage of our community. The 21st of March was chosen to mark Harmony Day because it coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Past activities include the wearing of traditional costumes, sharing stories and songs, dancing, cooking and sharing food of one's ethnic heritage. School uniforms could be abandoned for the day if one was wearing a costume or the symbolic colour of orange.
Kwokkie Doll definitely needed something to wear on Harmony Day if she is going to work very closely with the Little Colourful Teacher.
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| AKA Harmony Day Vest A slip stitched edging was added for a neater finish. Made by Jodiebodie 19 March 2014 Pattern: 'Denim Vest' for 'Denim Lily Doll' (Lily Sugar n'Cream / Yarnspirations) |
The next necessity was a hat. Lots of schools have the "no hat, no play" rule–students must wear a hat outdoors during the Spring and Summer terms to protect themselves from sunburn and the risks of skin cancer. One needs to set a hat example so Kwokkie Doll now has an orange hat with a blue trim.
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| AKA Harmony Day Beanie The orange beanie with blue trim is for Kwokkie Doll to wear on Harmony Day, yard duty or with jeans. Made by Jodiebodie 19 March 2014 |
I chose a beanie because Harmony Day is in autumn and the cooler weather is coming. I had intended to make another hat for the summer but ... I got distracted and plain forgot! (Sorry Ms A.K.! I can't blame it on fatigue fog this time!)
Kwokkie Doll had already moved away by this time so we did not have the benefit of costume fittings as the vest and hat were being made. They were posted on the 19th of March and were happily received just in time for Harmony Day on the 21st. I love sending smiles in the form of surprise parcels in the post!
My memories of Harmony Day are of a very supportive school community with people dressing up in ethnic costumes, wonderful luncheon buffets and the annual school assembly with children holding hands in a circle singing:
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| Happy recipients. Little Colourful Teacher helps Kwokkie Doll to model her Harmony Day clothes. |
Come and join our circle of friends,
There's always room for one more,
A circle that never ends,
Come on and open up the door …
… I don't remember any more! That line will do–it rhymes!
(I never learned all the words but I do remember feeling emotional when I heard the children singing lyrics of peace, love, celebration and most of all, welcome and social inclusion.)
It warms my heart that our children are being taught to respect each other and value diversity.
"Our diversity is our strength" is the official theme for 2016.
From the harmony day web site:
It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
It is a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity
and to share what we have in common.
It is a day for all Australians to embrace cultural diversity
and to share what we have in common.
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| Little Colourful Teacher's initials are embroidered on the back of the vest. |
Every culture in the world has its forms of art and craft, whether that be weaving, knitting, lacework, net-making, stitching or wood and stone carving, just for starters. Even within the realm of crochet alone, there are variations across cultures in the shapes of tools, techniques used and the types of specialty items traditionally made by specific cultural groups.
It fascinates me how these areas of expertise gradually spread across the globe to survive long enough for us to post and retrieve the information on the world wide web!
I like to think of this blog as a small piece in the puzzle to bring people together in crochet wherever we are.
The central message for Harmony Day is that ‘everyone belongs’,
reinforcing the importance of inclusiveness to all Australians.
It’s a day to celebrate
Australia’s diversity – a day of cultural respect
for everyone who calls Australia home.
Is Harmony Day marked on your calendar?
for everyone who calls Australia home.
Is Harmony Day marked on your calendar?
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| AKA Harmony Day Vest Outside, opened out. |
Project Details
Completed: 19 March 2014
Materials: 8 ply acrylic yarns with 4.5 mm aluminium hook with red plastic handle (Pony)
Yarns
- Kmart Homemaker Everyday 8 ply Acrylic
Colour: 378 Orange; dye lot #774542 - Moda Vera Marvel 8 ply Acrylic
Colour: 1016 Primary Blue; dye lot #770670
AKA Harmony Day Vest
Pattern: "Denim Doll" free pattern published by Lily / Sugar'n Cream which now can be found on the Yarnspirations web site.
Orange used: 8 grams / 25 metres
Blue used: 1 gram / 3 metres
Notes: The finished vest weighed 8 grams.
AKA Harmony Day Beanie
No pattern: improvised
Orange used: 6 grams / 19 metres
Blue used: 1 gram / 3 metres
Notes: The finished beanie weighed 7 grams.
A simple beanie worked top-down in a spiral fashion until ready to make the trim. Beginning with a magic ring, each round was increased in multiples of 6 stitches until 30 stitches around, then worked evenly to required length. The spiral was completed by joining with a slip stitch and subsequent rounds were joined. The beanie had a total of 11 rounds.
References
Australian Government Department of Social Services, Harmony Day, web site: http://www.harmony.gov.au/
Lily / Sugar'n Cream, "Denim Doll" free pattern, Yarnspirations: http://www.yarnspirations.com/denim-doll.htm
Little Colourful Teacher, blog: http://littlecolourfulteacher.com
United Nations, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, web page: http://www.un.org/en/events/racialdiscriminationday/
Yarnspirations: http://www.yarnspirations.com
Related Posts on Lupey Loops
AKA Amigurumi, 31 December 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/aka-amigurumi.html
AKA Amigurumi Apparel: Sundress & Dotty Daywear, 21 January 2016: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/aka-amigurumi-apparel-sundress-dotty.html
Very interesting to hear about Hamony day. I am afraid the concept is new to me, but it sounds great! Mutual respect beween cultures is a very important thing. If only we could use our diversities as a strength instead of eying eachother suspiciously. The world would be a far better place. Love the doll, and her mission. Pam in Norway x
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pam! I am glad to see you and hope you are well and having a good day.
DeleteWhy can't people see others as just 'people' intead of trying to categorise them and putting them into boxes like nationalities, skin colour, gender and socioeconomic stereotypes etc. Surely everyone has the same basic needs to feel loved, safe and be happy. Suspicion is bred by fear. People's energies are better spent looking within to seek the source of their fears and deal with that rather than directing their anger outwardly and causing harm to others.
Diversity IS a strength. We complement each other with our differences. I would like to put the word 'acceptance' together with 'diversity'.
I believe we can all contribute as individuals by leading by example - swallowing some fear and having courage to respectfully be open to others and accept and even embrace our differences. Education and communication are the antidotes to fear.
I appreciate your sentiments very much. xx
U have not heard of harmony day before but you can be sure I will celebrate it next year on our spring equinox.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching full-time I would have loved a doll like this for my classroom. I think I will make one for a friend who is taking a grade one class next fall. Thank you for the heart warming and educational post.
That is a nice idea, Mary Anne - to blend Harmony Day with your observance of the equinox.
DeleteAccording to Ms A.K., Kwokkie Doll was a 'total charmer' to the children on Harmony Day. Kwokkie Doll is a good catalyst for storytelling and enhancing interaction between students and teachers. Did you ever have class mascots at school? We had a class pet occasionally. What are your ideas for using a doll in the classroom?
I hope you will blog about the doll or other mascot that you make. That's so generous of you to make one for a friend. I am sure it will be appreciated just as much as Kwokkie Doll is here. Have fun!