How to Make Your Own Personal Peace Tree

You can make your own personal Peace Tree and it's pretty simple. Just go outside with your teacher or parent and collect some small branches from trees that are in your yard. Try to find some branches that have several stems. Then remove all the leaves and mount two to three of the branches in a 2" x 2" mound of plastecine right next to each other, so that you create your own mini Peace Tree. You can make the plastecine into the shape of a cube. That's it and you are ready to decorate your peace tree.

Now you have to do some research in the library and on the internet to find out symbols from all the different faiths and cultures, and peace symbols from around the world. The best way to create the decorations is by cutting and pasting colourful construction paper like in the examples below. Here are some ideas of religious symbols you can hang on your Peace Tree:

• Ying and Yang (from Taoism)
• Ohm (from Hinduism)
• Star of David (from Judaism)
• Moon and Star (from Islam)
• Cross (from Christianity)
• Nine Point Star (from the Bahai faith)

Plus there are many other religious symbols that you can discovers and create. For cultural symbols, you can make any of the following:

• a mini Chinese lantern
• a diya for Diwali
• a mehndi hand for Eid
• a menorah for Hanukkah
• a wreath for Christmas
• a Kwanzaa lamp
• a decorative elephant from India
• a pinata from Mexico
• a Japanese origami doll from Japan

Just do some research and discover all the beautiful symbols from all our cultures and celebrations. And don't forget to top it off with a paper crane which originated in China, but has become a very popular symbol of Japan now. Of course since your tree is a mini Peace Tree, all your decorations will have to be pretty small too in order to fit on your tree. Once you have finished your peace tree find a nice place to keep your tree in your home where everyone can enjoy the beauty of the symbol all year round.

Every year on March 14th, you can add more and more decorations on your Peace Tree and add new branches if you want your tree to keep growing. It will be a beautiful way to celebrate peace in our world. Please send us a picture of your Peace tree to kidzdiversityfilms@yahoo.ca with your name, your age, your city and the country that you're from and we will select the top five Peace Trees every year to post on our site. Also, add one sentence with your photo that shares your vision of peace with all of us. Enjoy, learn, and celebrate diversity and peace together on Peace Tree Day!

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