The Holidays…festive lights…decorations of red & green, blue & white, church bells, Hanukkah lights…as well as music, smiles, crowds, and traffic. A time to celebrate the brotherhood of man as wars dispel the ‘gemütlichkeit,’ feelings of warmth and good cheer.
Christmas – A celebration of the birth of Christ. Around the world, familiar sights of the manger, the star in the east, three wise men, and the infant who’s brief life would introduce a caring God to humanity.
By the 16th century Germans had added decorated trees to their holiday celebration and in the 1840s, marketers began to see Christmas as a huge opportunity to sell goods. Depictions of Santa hawking gift-giving appeared in newspapers in New York City and Boston, and the first in-store Santa appeared at Macy’s in 1862. Today many retail stores will do half of their entire year’s business in the holiday season. Despite the commercialistic craze, the holiday remains a special time of love, family, and sharing.
Hanukkah, also in December, is the Jewish Festival of Lightscommemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. As the story has evolved, during the revolt, there was only enough oil for one day but it lasted eight days, hence the lighting of candles in the Menorah…one for each day.
It was a miracle. Imagine if your cell phone’s battery was at 10% but it lasted eight days…truly a miracle! Eight days of family…of friends…of caring. Go ahead, spin that dreidel!
Eid al-Fitr is the Festival of Breaking the Fast, is one of Islam’s biggest celebrations.
Some Muslims consider Eid to be comparable to Hanukkah or Christmas in their culture. Following the month-long period of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr includes two days of celebration. It most often occurs in the Spring.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration in late December to honor the African diaspora.
It was established in the 1960’s, following the Los Angeles Watts riots, by an African American activist Professor to honor Black culture and heritage. Candles of various colors are lit each night to represent various aspects of Swahili, Zulu, and other cultures. The holiday culminates with a communal feast called Karamu.
Buddhism celebrates Vesak, a holiday that marks the Buddha’s birth, death and enlightenment each spring with paper lanterns, gifts, and the bathing of a baby Buddha statue.
Many Buddhists celebrate Christmas as well, believing that the teachings of Jesus complement those of the Lord Buddha.
Hinduism – There are more than one billion Hindus in the world, making it the 3rd largest religion in the world.
Many Hindus celebrate Christmas and believe Jesus to be one of their avatars, but their primary holidays are Diwali, which celebrates the victory of light over dark, good over evil. Another holiday, Holi, marks the beginning of spring. Dussehra, in the fall, is a festival which marks Rama’s triumph over the evil Ravana.
Nearly 8 billion people populate our small planet. The majority look to the heavens and seek a spiritual source to make sense of their existence. They find it in a variety of religions and who’s to say they’re wrong. Their common thread is tolerance and love. As we celebrate the holidays let us all hold tight to the belief that peace and brotherhood will ultimately prevail.