A Musical Lesson for Thanksgiving

Georgia is a state in the United States, of course, but Georgia is also the name of a country that was formerly part of the Soviet Union and now is considered part of Europe. Let’s learn more about the country of Georgia. 

Georgia Basics

Georgia is situated on the Black Sea and bordered by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is home to almost 4 million people, most of whom live in the capital, Tbilisi. 

The country is 26,900 square miles, or 69,700 square kilometers. 

People have lived in the area now known as Georgia since prehistoric times. It requested support from Russia to defend against hostile neighbors in the early 1800s, which led to Russia slowly annexing their land. Though they were briefly free after the Russian Revolution, the country was part of the Soviet Union until 1991. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and still occupies regions of the country.

The word Georgia referring to the region was first seen on an Italian map in 1320, but there’s a lot of debate as to where the word came from.

The majority of people living in Georgia today are Georgians, and they speak Georgian, an indigenous language that is apparently unrelated to any other language family in the world. Most people there practice Georgian Orthodox Christianity. 

Georgia is a representative democracy with a president and prime minister, as well as a parliament. 

Georgia National Symbols

The Georgian flag has a white background with a large red cross and a smaller red cross in each quadrant made by the big cross. It’s also known as the Five Cross Flag and was a symbol of the Kingdom of Georgia that was repopularized in the late 20th century, though it didn’t become the official national flag until 2004. 

The national anthem is “Tavisupleba” or “Freedom,” which was also approved in 2004. The music was adapted from two Georgian operas. 

The coat of arms features a lion on each side of a shield with an image of St. George, with a crown above that. The ribbon includes the national motto, which, translated to English, is “Strength is in unity.”

St George is the patron saint of Georgia. (Check out crafts and activities for St. George’s Day.)

Georgia Learning Activities

Twinkl has more about the history of Georgia and facts about the country. 

Learn about the giant head sculptures of Sno in this post form Atlas Obscura. They also have a good post about Prometheus Cave, which locals claim is where Prometheus was chained as punishment for stealing fire from the gods. 

Check out the giant plane tree in Telavi, an ancient tree that stands 150 feet (or 46 meters) tall and is the largest tree in Georgia.

This one is for the parents, but you might want to learn more about the history of wine making in Georgia, which is considered the birthplace of wine making. Evidence of grapes and grape seeds in the region dates back to 6000 BCE.

Georgia is so proud of its wine making history the the famous Mother of Georgia statue in Tbilisi holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other.

Check out this tour of Tbilisi from a local. 

It’s a little tricky to search for Georgia specific activities and get the nation, not the state, but this list from Teachers Pay Teachers is pretty good after the first one. 

Khachapuri, a Georgian cheese bread, is a popular dish that kids should love. Try this recipe from the Kitchn.