Tyler Steinmetz, Junior
Every December, across the globe, many different cultures and religions will take time to celebrate something special. This guide will help detangle the exciting web of December holidays and traditions.
In the United States, one of the most well-known and most celebrated holidays is Christmas. This holiday was created to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, however for a lot of people, Christmas is just celebrated as a way of giving gifts and getting together with family and friends. However, the United States isn't the only country that celebrates Christmas. Other countries include Australia and England, which both celebrate Christmas, but not in the way most Americans celebrate. In Australia, the warm weather often encourages many to go to the beach for the holiday and a popular tradition is using the Australian bush as an alternative to a Christmas tree. England replaces Santa Claus with Father Christmas and instead of milk and cookies, mince pies and brandy are left out on Christmas Eve.
Another holiday that is widely celebrated in the United States is Hanukkah. This holiday is celebrated in the Jewish faith and is an eight day-long event that honors the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. There are eight days of Hanukkah because the people who witnessed the re-dedication thought they only had enough oil to light a candle for one day, but it burned for eight. Each day of Hanukkah a candle is lit on a menorah at sundown with the ninth candle called the "shamash" which translates to the helper.
Another holiday you may have heard of is Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa was originally created in 1966 by a man named Dr. Maulana Karenga after he researched fruit harvests in Africa. From this research, he combined several different aspects of the fruit harvesting process to create the holiday. The origin of the name comes from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which translates from Swahili to first fruits. One of the main aspects of the holiday is the kinara which is similar to a menorah but with seven candles to light instead of eight. Each candle represents one of the 7 values in African culture. Other than the lighting of candles, each family will choose their own individual way to celebrate but some common traditions include African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal.
Unlike Kwanzaa, the holiday, Boxing Day has been celebrated for a very long time beginning in the middle ages. Boxing Day is only celebrated in a few countries and contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the sport of boxing. The reason behind the name is that during the middle ages a box would be filled with donations for the poor throughout the year and on Boxing Day, they would be opened and its contents would be given to those in need. Although not many countries take part in the current version of this holiday, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all celebrate. Some of the most popular events are soccer matches and horse races. Some areas do also honor the origins by still collecting money in a donation box.
The last holiday to learn about is Ōmisoka. This is the Japanese New Year's Eve. This is considered the second most important holiday because the transition from the old year to new is very important in Japanese culture. This holiday is rich with various traditions to welcome in the new year. One of the most popular traditions is to get together with family and eat toshikoshi-soba or toshikoshi-udon, which are dishes with long noodles. The reason for this is because these noodles are easy to break which represents a clean break between the new and old year. Also at midnight, it is popular to visit a shrine or temple where a large bell will be rung 108 times to represent the 108 earthly desires that are believed to induce human sorrow.
Each of these holidays are rich with traditions and customs that make them special to those who celebrate. Hopefully learning about each one will help make the holiday season a little more special this year!
Sources
コメント