I haven’t written on this blog for a long time, for reasons I may write about soon. It is now December 2016. Trump is President-elect, and my Jewish, multiracial family is facing down the winter holiday season. I’m trying to keep up with organizations and websites that will tell me what to do next, to stand up against bigotry, to stand up for the country and values I hold dear. Here’s one thing that’s not on those to-do lists. Four years ago, I created a read-aloud “book” and art project for my daughter’s second grade class that I’m bringing out again for my son’s second grade class’s winter party … this time, with an even deeper feeling that our children deserve to learn to embrace difference and to be kind. All children deserve to feel acknowledged and reflected in the celebrations that surround them.

[FWIW, the book had pictures that were totally lifted from the Web, so I’m not reprinting them here. The art project consists of making rolled beeswax candles, just fyi for diy’ers who like the idea. I gave Hanukkah’s theme of religious tolerance short shrift four years ago, and may alter it somewhat; suggested edits are always welcome!]

Festivals of Light: Winter Holidays Around the World

Diwali

The first “festival of lights” on the calendar is Diwali, the five-day-long Hindu festival whose name really means “row of lamps.”  One of the most important festivals in the Hindu religion, it falls in October or November, when the days are getting shorter, and the
dark winter is coming. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps filled with oil to
signify the triumph of good over evil. Firecrackers are burst because it is believed that it drives away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

Mawlid al-Nabi

The Muslim calendar is based on the moon, not on the sun like the Western calendar, so the holidays don’t always happen during the same month or season. But this year, the birthday of the Muslim Prophet, Muhammad, takes place in December. Many Muslims celebrate Mawlid al-Nabi. In the religion of Islam, Muhammad is seen as the most important, most beautiful and the most perfect of all beings. Muslim tradition says that Muhammad was created from holy light, and the holiday is often celebrated with festive lights.

 

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, and the day is the shortest day, the night the longest night of the whole year. It is also the time when winter officially begins. This year it comes on December 21^st.  Cultures from all over the world, from Finland to Korea to Pakistan, have celebrated festivals around the Winter Solstice, for as long as anyone can remember. Many communities in America today celebrate the Winter Solstice, as a time to honor nature, and to bring light and warmth, happiness and kindness, into the darkness of winter.

Hanukkah

The colder months also bring Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, celebrated in November or December. Hanukkah recalls a time long, long ago when Jews were able to re-dedicate their Temple after it had been treated very badly by others. On that first Hanukkah, it’s said that a miracle let a tiny bit of oil last for eight whole nights. So now Jews light candles for eight nights. They also celebrate by eating foods fried in oil—potato pancakes, and special doughnuts called sufganiyot. Children spin tops called dreidels that have letters that stand for the saying, “A Great Miracle Happened There.”

Christmas

Christmas, on December 25^th, is one of the two most important holidays that Christians celebrate each year. Christmas recalls the birth of Jesus Christ, whose life and teachings were the inspiration for Christianity. It is said that a bright star led three wise men to the manger in Bethlehem where the baby Jesus lay. Christmas comes at the darkest time of year, and is celebrated with presents, music, and good cheer—and lots of lights! People often decorate the outside of their homes with lights, and string lights on the Christmas trees they put up inside. Even without lights, Christmas trees often have stars on top, to recall that first star that guided the wise men to Bethlehem.

 Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, but not a religious one. It was created as a way to celebrate African American heritage, and to hold up principles that the holiday’s founders thought should be important in the African American community. In a candleholder called a Kinara, there are seven candles that are lit, for Kwanzaa’s seven days, and representing its seven principles:  umoja, or unity; kujichagulia, or self-determination; ujima, or interdependence, and helping each other; ujamaa, or supporting businesses run by African Americans; Nia, purpose; kuumba, creativity; and imani, or faith–in ourselves, each other, and our dreams.

 

Your Light

Whatever holidays you and your family celebrate, this is a season that needs your light! It can be cold, and dark, and dreary this time of year—but we can each make it warm and happy.

How?

We can be really, really nice to one another—to people we know, and even to strangers. To people we like, and even to people we fight with sometimes.

We can show our family and friends how much we love them.

We can sing together, and say Happy Holidays.

And, with grownups’ help, we can light a special candle.

Do you want to make a special candle today?