Hiya, not sure if its a bit late now but Shadow Puppets from China & India are popular cultural activities & might be better as a more focused activity. Haven't looked too deeply at the origins and background but this page &
brief Introduction to Shadow puppetry from ChinaTheatreWorks.org looks good.
The stories and plays enacted by the puppets & their puppeteers were/are based around religious issues, Regal & majestic struggles, fairy tales and myth ..
Indian Puppets
Image search for
Shadow Puppet
Use straws and black paper and let the children cut out their own shaped puppet parts .. glue / tape a straw to the back of the pieces.
For some 'take home Theatres, prepare A4 or A3 sized sheets of greaseproof paper and glue 3 of the edges to a backing sheet of white paper. Once dried the children should be able to slot their black puppet between the 2 sheets and wiggle it about ! This would also work well for anyone doing Incy wincy Spider rhymes !!
Use a torch & shine it onto the back of the white paper sheet to illuminate the puppet outline. Include an information note about the cultural aspect for parents, any religious topics that may of been discussed and a tip that the children may be on the look out for torches at home
lol
There doesn't seem to be any other festivals to link an activity to for Monday although the first day of Summer is on Saturday/Sunday and Midsummer Solstice is a Pagan observance ...