Cover Story Holidays Around the World December 2006

by Desty Shoemaker
Cover Illustration by Ryan Heshka

I’m a member of the Brentwood Diversity Committee. The Village Community Resource Center contacted us about participating in their La Posada event at the City Center last Christmas. We were glad to comply because the Diversity Committee seeks to educate people about the cultural and ethnic diversity that is represented by the people living around us.

Prejudice occurs because people are ignorant of the great things that other cultures have to offer. We believe that people don’t have to give up their own culture, or minimize what is important to them, in order to acknowledge from the heart the fact that other people have traditions that are just as important to them.

This is an educational process. Knowledge of other’s faiths and practices serves to protect us from prejudice by taking the strangeness out of other people’s traditions.

So when the Village Community Resource Center extended to us their invitation, we brainstormed about what we wanted to do to promote the goals of diversity. We decided to put together a presentation that would cover all the winter holidays. I had some time to spare so I volunteered to do the research.

Our Christmas Around the World theme turned out to be a bigger project than I had counted on and the final presentation spread across two booths. It proved to be a very interesting project. I learned a lot and the event turned out to be extremely successful.

Several members of the community participated in the project. We used one booth to display our poster, and the other to provide an area where kids could play with a dreidel, and work with puzzles and games.

The dreidel, which is a toy associated with Hanukkah, was a real hit. The kids played with little chocolate gelt, which are the coins passed out by custom during the eight days of Hanukkah. They could earn or lose their gelt as the game progressed. We also passed out Christmas storybooks to kids who registered.

We offered a lot to everyone who participated. The participants got an idea about celebrating holidays that extended beyond their own ethnic and family traditions. I hope that a number of people learned about holiday traditions in other countries. For sure, I learned a lot about the various holiday traditions myself.

My Own Story
I grew up on the plains of North Dakota and never heard words like Hanukkah or Kwanza before going to college. But I was always delighted whenever Christmas would roll around. We used to joke that there was nothing between us and the North Pole except for a barbed wire fence. Since this was North Dakota it was often really cold in December. But our hearts were warmed by the happy family traditions that belonged to that time.

As a child growing up in that cold place I really loved Christmas! Most of all I liked the Christmas tree and my heart was moved by the sight of the twinkling lights reflecting softly off the ornaments on the tree.

I can shut my eyes today and vividly recall the colors and those ornaments. We were a humble family, but the little plastic decorations always seemed touched by a special kind of magic. From the time I was old enough to hold one of those little wire hangers in my hand I would help decorate the tree with great enthusiasm.

I can still remember being small and appreciating the special feeling that comes with Christmas. When I was growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money for presents, but we really cherished the few gifts that each of us found under the tree. It was so exciting shaking them gently and wondering what was in them.

We were proof that a successful Christmas celebration doesn’t have to have a lot of gifts, the most beautiful tree, or the most expensive and elaborate decorations. All it takes is a family to make the day special. The wonderful qualities belonging to the day are located in the hearts of the family members. It was a time for love; a time to give gifts out of a generous heart and to receive with a heart marked by gratitude.

Those holidays were times when kindness became easy. Even though we didn’t know anything about celebrations in other parts of the world, we knew that Santa was visiting every family on earth. We knew that the angel had talked about “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” and a sense of kinship with humanity was an unmistakable part of our celebration.

Those memories absolutely overwhelm me with nostalgia. The remembrance of those long ago Christmases in that far off childhood home brings tears of joy to my eyes.

Now I have my own kids, and my husband and I are trying to promote the same traditions that my parents created for us. I start planning Christmas around Haloween or before. I don’t get the real spirit, however, until the tree is up — usually the first week in December. My children have their own ornaments, and we have Christmas books that we read and Christmas carols that we love to sing. We’re deliberately replicating the happy celebrations of our childhood Christmas in the lives and hearts of our children.

In my former ignorance I might have imagined that our holiday traditions that meant so much to my family and me represented a uniquely wonderful set of holiday celebrations. However, I discovered in learning about Kwanza, Hanukkah, and the other traditions of winter celebrations from various parts of the world, that I put together for The Village Community Resource Center, that all these holiday observances focused upon the same themes of family, love, generosity, kindness, and kinship with humanity that marked our own celebrations.

Here are just a few of the things that I learned.

Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights
The holiday Hanukkah literally lights up the home of Jewish celebrants. The eight-day, 2,000-year-old holiday, also called the Festival of Lights, celebrates God’s glory, an ancient victory of the Jews over their enemies, and the freedom Jews enjoy today.

The story of Hanukkah begins in strife. Antiochus, a Greek who was king of Syria, marched with an army of soldiers into the kingdom of Judea, home to many Jews. He insisted that the Jews worship the Greek gods rather than the one God they worshipped.

When the Jews refused to worship the Greek gods, the soldiers attacked the Temple in Jerusalem and killed countless Jews. They stole holy objects. They even stole the sacred lamp, called the menorah, that stood before the alter. The lamp’s flame, which always burned brightly, went out. That had never happened before. Special oil stored in small containers called cruses was always used to keep the flame alive. The soldiers dumped the oil all over the floor. As a last insult, they let pigs roam in the Temple.

The king returned to his own country, but the soldiers stayed on. They did not respect the Jewish Temple. They brought food and drink in, played noisy games, and shouted and laughed there. Jews could not say their prayers in the Temple.

One old man, Mattathias, wanted to fight to take back the Temple. He went with his five sons into the wilderness, where other families joined them. The men began to fight the enemy anywhere and in any way they could.

Mattathias became sick. He named one of his sons, Judah the Maccabee, the leader of the fighting band. For two years the Jews fought their enemy. Then one night they attacked Jerusalem, the enemy stronghold. Judah the Maccabee and his followers camped outside Jerusalem all winter. When the people inside had little food or water left, they attacked and overwhelmed the enemy. The Jews were free.

One of the first tasks of the Jews was to clean up the Temple. They restored the holy lamp — the menorah — but found only enough clean and holy oil to last one day. Yet the flames of the menorah burned steadily for eight days. With each passing day, the flames grew brighter.

From then on, every year at that time, Jews have celebrated with the Festival of Lights. Candles are lit at sundown for eight nights in a row. Today’s menorahs have nine branches; the ninth branch is for the shamash, or servant light, which is used to light the other eight candles. People eat potato latkes, exchange gifts, and play dreidel games. And as they gaze at the light of the menorah, they give thanks for the miracle in the Temple long ago.

Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr
During the holy month of Ramadan, Allah gave the Prophet Muhammad the Holy Koran. He sent the angel Jigril to give Muhammad a vision revealing how Allah wanted people to live. Allah’s words were revealed to Muhammad through the angel over a period of 23 years, and the words were written down to form the Koran. Muslims celebrate Ramadan to remember this very special month.

During Ramadan the Muslims fast during the daylight hours, going without food or drink until sundown. Rather than feeding their bodies, they pray and read the Koran. They also make extra effort not to say or listen to anything harmful. These disciplines make them feel closer to Allah. They also remind them of people who may not have enough to eat.

Every day during Ramadan, Muslim families wake up before the sun rises to eat a meal together. This meal is called Suhur. It is the only thing they eat until the evening. After Suhur, everyone offers the Fajr prayer together. Even young children should fast at least a few days during Ramadan. Many kids also give up eating their favorite foods and try to improve themselves by avoiding bad habits.

Muslims are supposed to read the entire Koran during the month of Ramadan. It is important to know that all five daily prayers should be offered as well, or the day’s fasting has no meaning at all.

When the sun sets, they break their fast by drinking water and eating dates. Then they offer the Maghrib prayer together. Afterward, everyone enjoys a delicious meal called alled Iftar.

Remember that fasting during Ramadan is REQUIRED of Muslims once they reach the age of puberty, or between the ages of 11 and 15 (the same time that the five prayers become a requirement.) Ramadan is a time when Muslims give up some of their personal comforts to become closer to Allah. It is a time to remember the important teachings that Allah gave to their dear Prophet. Those teachings include respecting and understanding others, and remembering those who are less fortunate.

The month of Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. It’s a time to celebrate the end of fasting. Homes are decorated for the feast and Eid cards and gifts may be made. This holiday is so important that many Muslims in the U.S. take a day off from work or school to celebrate with their families. Everyone rises early for the prayer ceremony at the masjid, wearing new clothes. Afterward, families visit each other and exchange good wishes. The handshakes and hugs after the prayer are a wonderful mark of love toward others. Eid gives everyone a feeling of brotherliness, and all bad feelings toward fellow Muslims should be wiped clean so everyone can start fresh.

Children sometimes receive gifts, candy, or money. But Eid is not about such gifts; it is really a time to remember Allah and to feel the joy that comes in meeting obligations toward Him.

As with all months in the Islamic calendar, it begins with the sighting of the new moon. For this reason there may be regional differences in the exact date of Eid, with some Muslims fasting for 29 days and some for 30 days. This year, North American Eid was celebrated October 24th.

Kwanzaa
We’ve been talking about celebrations around the world. Kwanzaa, however, is a thoroughly American celebration. People mistakenly believe that Kwanzaa was a cultural import from Africa but, in fact, it started in California 40 years ago by Ron Karenga, who was leader of a black nationalist United Slaves Organization.

The Swahili question “Habari Gani?” means “What’s the news? It may soon become as familiar a holiday message as Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy New Year. Habari Gani is the ritual greeting of Kwanzaa and Kwanzaa is the world’s fastest growing holiday.

This year, more than 20 million people are expected to celebrate Kwanzaa, a non-religious event honoring African-American culture and community.

Karenga wanted to give African Americans a holiday that would belong particularly to them. He wrote, “...it was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.”

Kwanzaa had a mixed history until 1997 when Karenga announced that Kwanzaa was to be regarded as a “Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture” rather than as a religious holiday.

The holiday emphasizes seven qualities that black people were to work for: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

Kwanzaa has seven days of celebration, which begin on December 26 and end on January 1. The most important symbols of Kwanzaa are:

• The mishumaa — seven candles (3 red, 3 green, 1 black), standing for Kwanzaa’s seven principles
• The kinara — a candleholder representing the stalk of corn from which the family grows
• The mkeka — a straw placement, recalling tradition and history
• The mazao — a variety of fruit, symbolizing the harvest
• The vibunzi — an ear of corn for each child, celebrating the child’s potential
• The kikombe cha umoja — a cup of unity, commemorating one’s ancestors
• The zawadi — modest gifts, encouraging creativity, achievement, and success

The days leading up to Kwanzaa are spent decorating the house with black, red, and green paper decorations. They might also place handmade ornaments on an evergreen Kwanzaa bush. Part of this holiday is spent teaching children about their heritage and they might also display their artwork or find other ways to pay tribute to their past as well as their present. They put up photographs of the current generation of the family. A ceremonial table is set up, which has been set up with an ear of corn symbolizing each of the children, a carved and decorative unity cup, which is used for the toasts made each evening.

The most joyous and elaborate of Kwanzaa’s gatherings takes place on December 31, the 6th day of the holiday period. On that night, a great feast (karamu) is held. Families and friends gather to eat, drink, sing, dance, and read stories and poems celebrating their cultural heritage. Everyone sips from the unity cup and many people exchange gifts. These gifts might consist of a book as well as a heritage symbol such as an African artifact. Once everyone has eaten, they all rise, recommit themselves to the seven principles of Kwanzaa and bid everyone happy times ahead.

There has been a lot of controversy about Christmas and the holidays. There’s room for all the greetings. There shouldn’t be competition. For sure nobody should forbid Jews from saying “Happy Hanukkah” or Christians from wishing people “Merry Christmas.” Who is arrogant enough to pass rules about such things? We shouldn’t insist upon anybody conforming to anything that has to do with the beliefs and practices that are meaningful to us.

The spirit of the holidays shouldn’t be tarnished by the knowledge that everyone doesn’t celebrate it the same way. °