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Winter Holidays
Below are a few of the many holidays celebrated this time
of year (listed by date).
Ramadan
November 5 to December 5
Ramadan is an Islamic holy month when Muslims may not eat or drink
from morning until night. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic
year. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, Ramadan falls at different
times of the year. Muslims celebrate Ramadan as the month during
which the prophet Muhammad received the first of the revelations
that make up the Quran, the holy book of Islam.
Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of the five Pillars of Faith,
the chief religious duties of a Muslim. All Muslims must fast if
they have reached puberty and are of sound mind. Exceptions are
made for some groups, such as the sick, the elderly, pregnant women,
and travelers. Those who are able, however, must make up the missed
fast days at a later time. A Muslim who deliberately breaks the
fast must atone by fasting for two continuous months or feeding
the poor.
Fasting begins at dawn and lasts until sunset. During this time,
Muslims cannot take food or drink, inhale tobacco smoke or perfume,
or engage in sexual activity. Believers may not even swallow their
own saliva. The daily fast is broken by a light meal called the
iftar, followed by the evening prayer. The preferred food for the
iftar is dates and water.
Ramadan is also a time for other religious activities. The nights
are often devoted to special prayers and to recitations from the
Quran. During the last 10 days, some Muslims seclude themselves
in a mosque to give full time to religious contemplation. The end
of Ramadan is celebrated by a great festival. More on Ramadan http://www2.worldbook.com/features/holidays/html/ramadan.htm
Hanukah
November 30 – December 7
The origins of Hanukah or the Festival of Lights are an event that
happened 200 years before the birth of Christ. A king named Antiochus
attempted to have all Jewish persons under his reign to follow the
Greek religion. Under the leadership of Judah Maccabee, there was
a rebellion.
After three years of fighting, the Maccabees drove the Greek soldiers
away. The Maccabees wanted to rededicate the temple, but were only
able to find enough oil for one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted
eight days; long enough to make new oil.
An important part of the Hanukah celebration is the menorah. This
is a candleholder with eight candles and a shammash or servant candle.
One candle is lit by the shammash for each of the night of Hanukah.
After the lighting of the candles, people give gifts to one another.
People sing and make merry. A popular food for Hanukah is potato
pancakes, or latkes, cooked in oil in honor of the miracle.
Children enjoy playing the dreidel game. This is a top game played
with nuts or gold-covered chocolate coins. There are four letters
of the top which stand for nun, gimmel, hay, and shin and give the
directions for what to give or take during the game. The letters
also stand for "nes gadol hayah sham" or "a great
miracle happened there." More on Hanukah http://www.everythingjewish.com/Hanukah/origins.htm
Guadalupe Day
December 12
On December 12 each year, thousands of people gather at a hill
in Mexico City. They
come from all over Mexico.
Many have walked long distances to reach the Shrine of Our Lady
of Guadalupe.
The shrine is built on the spot where a poor Indian said he had
seen a vision. About 450 years ago, the man, Juan Diego, was walking
by the hill. Suddenly, he saw the figure of a young Indian woman,
surrounded by bright light. She had black hair, dark eyes, and a
dark skin. She told him she was the mother of God, and the mother
of all Indians. She told him she wanted a shrine built there.
Juan Diego told his story to a bishop. The bishop didn't believe
him. But the Indian later returned and claimed to have seen the
vision again. He told the bishop that roses had suddenly appeared
on the hillside. The woman told him to gather the roses in his cloak.
When Juan Diego opened his cloak to show them to the bishop, the
roses fell out. And on the cloak was a painting of the woman Juan
Diego had seen.
Juan Diego told the bishop that the woman called herself Holy Mary
of Guadalupe. The bishop finally decided that Juan Diego had seen
the Virgin Mary, whom Christians believe is the mother of Jesus.
He allowed a shrine to be built on the hill. The cloak with the
painting on it now hangs in the shrine. And Our Lady of Guadalupe
is Mexico's
patron saint.
Everyone in Mexico
celebrates Guadalupe Day. It is the most important religious holiday
in Mexico.
People put pictures and statues of the Virgin of Guadalupe in their
windows. Gifts of flowers, pigs, chickens, and eggs are brought
to churches. And colorful puppet shows re-enact the story of Juan
Diego's vision. More on Guadalupe Day http://www2.worldbook.com/features/holidays/html/guadel.htm
St. Lucia
Day
December 13.
Down the village street comes a small group of young people. At
the head of the group walks a pretty girl in a long, white dress.
Upon her head she wears a crown of green leaves and seven glowing
candles. In her hands she carries a tray of little cakes. Behind
her walk some younger girls, also in white, carrying candles. A
number of boys in tall, pointed hats follow them.
Processions such as these can be seen in all parts of Sweden
on St. Lucia Day, December 13. The girls and boys bring cakes and
coffee to homes, hospitals, factories, and offices.
The girl with the crown represents Saint
Lucia, a young Christian girl.
She was killed by Roman soldiers about fifteen hundred years ago
for refusing to give up her religion.
Because Saint Lucia
was an Italian, her day is also celebrated in Italy.
There, people honor her with bonfires and parades on her feast day.
More on St. Lucia
Day http://www.umkc.edu/imc/stlucia.htm
Winter Solstice
December 21
Long before Christmas, people celebrated the Winter Solstice. People
felt the celebrations made the Sun God happy and hurried the coming
of Spring. Celebrations were held on the eve of the shortest day
of the year.
A big log, called the Yule Log was burned in a great bonfire. Everyone
danced and sang around the fire. Families hung mistletoe from the
doorways of their homes for good luck. Some people decorated their
homes with evergreens.
As you can see, many of the Winter Solstice traditions were made
a part of the Christmas traditions as more people became Christians.
The Winter Solstice is still celebrated, however, by many cultures
around the world and is also a part of the Wiccan religion. More
on the winter solstice http://www.candlegrove.com/solstice.html
and Yule http://www.candlegrove.com/yule.html
Christmas
December 25
Christmas is a happy, festive time filled
with great spiritual significance. Next to Easter, Christmas is
the most important holiday of the year for Christians. Customs differ
around the world for observing Christmas, but they all center on
celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse,
or "Christ's Mass."
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of
the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration
of Christmas to Rome
in 336 A.D.
Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America
it is the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for
members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the
religious calendar. The federal government, all state governments,
all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses
in America
give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important
holiday. More on Christmas around the world http://www.christmas.com/worldview/
Kwanzaa
December 26 – January 1
Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday created in 1966. It begins
on December 26 and lasts through January 1. The name Kwanzaa come
from the language of Swahili and means first fruits of the harvest.
To prepare for the holiday, families decorate their homes with
Kwanzaa symbols. They place a mkeka, a straw mat, on the table.
Corn (one ear for each child in the family) and other foods are
placed on the mkeka to remember the earth's abundance.
Candles are placed in a kinara, a wooden candle holder. A black
candle is placed in the center as a reminder of the richness of
African-Amercan skin. Three red candles represent struggles and
three green candles represent a prosperous future. A candle is lit
for each day of Kwanzaa. The black candle is lit first, then red
and green candles are lit alternately.
There are seven priciples of Kwanzaa, one for each day. They are
Umoja or Unity, Kujichagulia or Self-Determination, Ujima or Collective
Work and Responsibility, Ujamma or Cooperative Economics, Nia or
Purpose, Kuumba or Creativity, and Imani or Faith. More on Kwanzaa
http://www.melanet.com/kwanzaa/
Boxing Day
December 26
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain,
Australia,
New Zealand,
and Canada.
It falls on December 26, which is also St. Stephen's Day. The public
observance of Boxing Day takes place on the following Monday if
December 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. The traditional celebration
of Boxing Day included giving money and other gifts to charitable
institutions, needy individuals, and people in service jobs. The
holiday may date from the Middle Ages (A.D. 400's--1500's), but
the exact origin is unknown. It may have begun with the lords and
ladies of England,
who presented Christmas gifts in boxes to their servants on December
26. Or it may have begun with priests, who opened the church's alms
(charity) boxes on the day after Christmas and distributed the contents
to the poor. More on Boxing Day http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/boxingday.html
New Years Eve
The beginning of the new year has been welcomed on different dates
throughout history. Great Britain
and its colonies in America
adopted the Gregorian calender in 1752, in which January 1st was
restored as New Year's Day. Ways of celebrating differ as well,
according to customs and religions of the world. People in Moslem
societies, for example, celebrate the new year by wearing new clothes.
Southeast Asians release birds and turtles to assure themselves
good luck in the twelve months ahead. Jewish people consider the
day holy, and hold a religious ceremony at a meal with special foods.
Hindus of India leave shrines next to their beds, so they can see
beautiful objects at the start of the new year. Japanese prepare
rice cakes at a social event the week before the new year.
Whatever the custom, most of people feel the same sentiment. With
a new year, we can expect a new life. We wish each other good luck
and promise ourselves to do better in the following year. More
on New Years Eve http://www.usis.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/newyears.html
and http://www2.worldbook.com/features/holidays/html/new_year.htm
Return
to the December 2002 Online Newsletter
© Copyright 2002, ICRT
All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced
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