Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta Holidays

Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta Holidays. Performed by Katherine Dines. CD. Approx. 48 min. Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta. 2019. $15.99 + $3.00 shipping.

Grades 1 – 5

Award-winning songwriter Katherine Dines performs 12 original songs and 1 traditional song in a variety of folk styles, influenced by the music of various countries. A celebrated kindie artist, Dines has been writing songs and creating albums for 27 years. The backup musicians give stellar performances on guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, tin whistle, cajon, percussion, Chinese bell tree, udu, and mark tree. Before each song, Dines gives a spoken introduction, giving some information about the holiday or celebration. “Somewhere in the World” someone is celebrating a holiday, such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, or Ramadan, all of which include some kind of light in their celebrations. “A Long Time Ago,” people depended on the sun and stars to guide them through the dark. In “Thanks to the Sun,” pagan sun-worshiping people welcome the spring. “Nian,” a celebration of the Chinese New Year, tells of a hungry monster that came from the sea and gobbled up everything in sight; but a stranger in the village frightened it away with fireworks. Diwali celebrates the rescue of a woman by her husband from a demon king in “Light Rises Over Darkness.” Inspired by a poem by a Persian poet who lived in the 1300s, “Stars” celebrates the miraculous stars at night, that send light throughout our lives across eternity. “Eight Little Candles” reminds the Jewish people of the tiny army of Israelites that defeated Antiochus and his Syrian army and thus rescued the Temple. In “The Friendly Beasts,” a donkey, cow, and pair of doves come to visit Jesus in his manger and give him gifts. The introduction to “Forever Evergreen" is an interesting history of the origins of the Christmas tree. In the early 600s, an English monk traveled to Germany and taught the people the concept of the Trinity, using the triangular evergreen tree. Centuries later, at Christmas time, the German people began decorating an evergreen with candles (God’s light), fruit (the Garden of Eden), angels (to watch over the family), and stars (symbol of the Star of Bethlehem). In the song, the evergreen’s branches dance and sway in the winter wind while snowflakes fall. “The Sun Will Rise” tells of the Yule log burning bright in the Scandinavian celebration of Yule. “Ramadan,” which means “month that burns” explains this Islamic holiday. “Kwanzaa” explains how this invented holiday is celebrated. “Joy” wraps up the album with families getting together to celebrate the holidays. The accompanying booklet not only has the lyrics of the songs, but the texts of the narrations as well. This excellent album is a multi-cultural treasure, sure to be useful in classrooms and libraries.

Website: www.hunktabunkta.com