The holidays are a time for peace and love. A time for being with family to celebrate with traditions, food and gifts. Traditions may be one of the best parts of the holidays. They serve as reminders of who came before us and what they held dear, as well as ways for us to grow closer to our own loved ones.
Holiday traditions differ greatly around the world. Throughout December, there are several major holidays that are attributed to different cultures and celebrated differently depending on what region you come from and what traditions your own family holds.
Christmas is one of the most common holidays celebrated in December. It comes from the Christian tradition, in which the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated on Dec. 25. It also ties in with another tradition, the Winter Solstice, which was a major holiday in the Roman Empire before the legalization of Christmas. Some historians believe that in the fourth century, the Pope changed Jesus Christ’s date of birth from sometime in January, as it likely was, to coincide more closely with the Solstice to encourage its celebration.
Christmas has become a somewhat secular holiday for many people, celebrated by those who don’t affiliate themselves with Christianity. In this sense, it is closely associated with Santa Claus, who travels the world to bring presents to all the good children. Santa Claus is known by different names around the world, such as Father Christmas, Père Noel and Saint Nicholas. The traditions that go with Christmas also differ. In some places, shoes are left out to be filled with goodies. In others, evergreen trees are decorated.
Another common holiday is Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday that is also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is celebrated anytime from late November to early January, depending on the lunar calendar. This year, it will be celebrated from Dec. 10–18. Although this is a fairly minor holiday in the Jewish culture, it has gained popularity as a sort of counterpart to Christmas as it is celebrated around the same time. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple.
The story goes that there was only enough oil to last one night, but miraculously, the oil lasted eight, giving the people enough time to prepare fresh oil. To celebrate this miracle, candles are lit on a candelabra called a menorah, one candle for each night of the holiday. During this time, gifts are exchanged, the traditional game of dreidel is played and traditional foods such as latkes and sufganiyot are eaten.
A more modern holiday that was first celebrated in the late twentieth century is Kwanzaa. This holiday was created by Maulana Karenga after the Watts riots as a specifically African-American holiday. It takes place from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 and celebrates the seven principles of African Heritage. The celebration includes a candle-lighting ritual and, at the end, a feast of faith, called Karamu Yu Imani. The holiday is meant as a way for African Americans to take pride in their cultureand celebrate it.
As previously mentioned, the Winter Solstice is also in December, on the twenty-first, and is still celebrated in some cultures. For those who live above the equator, the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, with less than ten hours of daylight. Some traditions see it as the coming of light, for afterward, the days will start to lengthen. Others believe that dark spirits roam the Earth because it is the longest night of the year.
To wrap up December and the calendar year itself is the celebration of the New Year. In many places, the tradition is to stay up until midnight in order to celebrate the beginning of a new year. There are also some New Year superstitions, such as the person you are with on New Year’s Eve is the person you will spend the coming year with, or that crying on New Year’s Day means a year of sadness.
It is no stretch to say that 2020 has been a particularly trying year and the holiday spirit is just what many people need. As you celebrate with your family, remember to keep in mind the hopeful message that many of the December holidays have.
Photo by Kaily Paddie
