Winter Holidays Explained

December. This is a month that might have some of the most celebrated holidays. Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and many more. In this article, I will take a close look at each of the four listed holidays, talking about their origins, what people do to celebrate, and other facts.

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays all across the world. Christmas occurs each year on December 25th, which was also the winter solstice in the Roman Empire. But anyways, according to the Bible, Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who founded the religion of Christianity. But there are also many non-Christians celebrating it. It’s sort of like two Christmas’: one that is very formal and one that is lighthearted. During Christmas, kids exchange gifts, and many families have Christmas trees. An important figure during Christmas is Santa Claus. Santa originates from a Dutch tradition of a man called Sinterklaas. There are many different traditions between different places. In the Philippines, there is a huge lights show held in the city of San Fernando. People in Iceland read and exchange books. And in Japan, people eat fried chicken! Some believe that Christmas was in part inspired by Yule, another holiday I will talk about later. As you can see, Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated by people all across the world of all religions.

Yule is a holiday that is celebrated in late December to Early January, for twelve days. Yule is a traditional Germanic holiday. Germanic nations include Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and many others. Yule originates as a sort of a winter festival. People lit up the night by burning Yule logs to light up the night. People toasted Odin, the Nordic God of Battle. There are many similarities between Yule and Christmas, with both celebrating with evergreen trees, gifts, mistletoe, and many more. A symbol of Yule is a Yule Goat. A large Yule Goat was constructed in Sweden, called the Gävle Goat. 

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that is celebrated for eight days starting on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev. Kislev is a month in the Jewish Calendar. The Jewish Calendar is a lunar calendar, meaning that the months are based on the moon. For every one month, the moon would have rotated around the earth exactly once. This means that the date of Hanukkah changes from year to year. This year, in 2021, Hanukkah will start on Sunday, November 29th, and end on Monday, December 6th. But next year, in 2022, Hanukkah will start on Monday, December 19th, and end on December 27th. Hanukkah celebrates the reconsecration of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Basically, over a thousand years ago, Jerusalem was conquered by the Syrian Empire from the North. The Syrian King outlawed Judaism, and destroyed most of the temples. But a group of rebels, called the Maccabees, fought back, and rebuilt the temple. But because of all the war, they only had a single drop of oil to light the holy lamp, which had to be lit 24/7. But that little bit of oil that should have only lasted one night lasted for eight, giving them enough time to get more oil. Today, Jews celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a menorah, or a lamp, for eight days, remembering the eight days that the Holy Temple was lit. But like in Yule and Christmas, people also exchange gifts. But there is another holiday that also lights a lamp: Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa, unlike the three mentioned, isn’t a religious holiday. It is a celebration of African-American heritage. Kwanzaa was founded in 1966, by a man called Dr. Ron Karanga. Karagna wanted to bring all African peoples together. It runs for seven days, from December 26 to January First. The name comes from a phrase meaning “first fruits,” referring to the end of the harvest season. Although it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas, many celebrate both holidays. Each of the seven days, a candle is lit, similarly to Hanukkah, symbolizing one of seven principles of the holiday: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

December is a month with many different holidays. Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are among a few of the many holidays celebrated. One of the others is Chinese New Year, which I will talk about later in January. Hopefully you enjoyed and I will see you in a couple weeks for another article.