Winter Holidays: Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Chanukkah
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Winter is a time to gather with family and friends. There are many different traditions held and ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays – each one of them being special.
Christmas - December 25
A traditional Christmas dinner is celebrated with a feast of turkey or ham and mashed potatoes with gravy. Stockings are hung on the fireplace and people usually watch classic Christmas movies. Additionally, a Christmas tree is assembled. This may be a natural, fragrant pine or spruce tree or an artificial but still magical version. Presents are stacked up high under the ornamented and string-lit tree with a shiny gold star on top.
Christmas celebrates Jesus Christ’s birth, who, according to the Christian religion, is the son of God. Christmas is a combination of the two words ‘Christ’ and ‘Mass’, which mean the holy mass of Christ.
The exchange of gifts at Christmas time has a religious history. Christianity states that, when Jesus was born, the Three Wise Men travelled to Bethlehem by following the North Star. They believed that Jesus was the chosen one and gave him special gifts.
In later years, the tradition of giving gifts continued and the decoration of the Christmas tree was added around the 16th century in Germany.
The legend of Santa began in 280 CE by a monk named St. Nicholas. Santa’s reindeer were first named in the poem ‘‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ in 1823.
Kwanzaa - December 26-January 1
Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday that was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. It is celebrated by many African-Americans as a commemoration of their cultural heritage and traditional values. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that means ‘first’ which symbolizes welcoming the first fruits of the harvest. This festival is a celebration of life.
The festival is seven days long, each of its seven nights involves a candle lighting ceremony. The candles represent Kwanzaa’s seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work or responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Kwanzaa ceremonies usually have drumming and musical instruments, libations, a reading of the African Pledge, and the above principles of Kwanzaa. A candle-lighting ritual and artistic performances may also be included.
Traditional food in a Kwanzaa festival is Cajun catfish, African creole, jerk chicken, and groundnut stew.
Chanukkah - November 28-December 6
Chanukkah is one of the most well-known Jewish holidays. It is the Jewish festival of rededication and is also known as the festival of lights. Chanukkah celebrates the rededication of the second Temple of Jerusalem during the second century BCE.
Chanukkah is eight days long. Candles are placed on a menorah from right to left, the same direction in which Hebrew text is read. However, when the candles are lit, they are lit from left to right with the shamash, the candle in the middle of the menorah.
Dreidel is a popular children’s game that is played during Chanukkah. A Dreidel is a spinning top that has four sides, each engraved with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Traditional Chanukkah foods are Sufganiyot (round doughnuts with jam inside and powdered sugar on top), brisket (tender beef from lower chest or breast), latkes (potato pancakes), kugel (egg noodle casserole), and Chanukkah Gelt (gold foil covered chocolate coin).