RESOURCE Celebrations Around the World: Winter Holidays

[MiharuAya]

Christmas:
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on December 25th as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people worldwide. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, and it is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians and culturally by many non-Christians.

The Christmas celebrations associated with various countries have a mix of Christian, Pagan, and secular themes and origins. Popular customs of the holiday include gift giving; completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath; Christmas caroling and music; viewing a Nativity play; an exchange of Christmas cards; a special meal; church services; and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas lights, Christmas trees, garlands, nativity scenes, wreaths, holly, mistletoe.

In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during Christmas and have their own body of traditions and lore.

Hanukkah
Also known as the Festival of Lights, it is a Jewish festival celebrating the retrieval of Jerusalem and the subsequent consecration of the Second Temple. It is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is placed above or below the others; its candle lights the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shamash. The shamash lit one additional candle each night until all eight candles were lit together on the festival's final night. Typically, two blessings are recited when lighting the candles. The shehecheyanu blessing is added on the first night, totaling three blessings.

Depending on tradition, the blessings are said before or after the candles are lit. On the first night of Hanukkah, one light (candle or oil) is lit on the right side of the menorah. On the following night, a second light is placed to the left of the first, but it is lit first, and so on, proceeding from placing candles right to left but lighting them from left to right over the eight nights.

Other festivities include singing Hanukkah songs, playing the game of dreidel, and eating oil-based foods such as latkes, sufganiyot, and dairy foods.

Originally instituted as a feast, it does not come with the corresponding obligations and is, therefore, a relatively minor holiday in strictly religious terms. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has attained major cultural significance in North America and elsewhere, especially among secular Jews, due to often occurring around the same time as Christmas during the festive season.

Kwanzaa
It is an annual African-American culture celebration held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually held on the 6th day. It was based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa, including West and Southeast Africa.

Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits." The First Fruits festivals in Southern Africa are celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice. Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama. It was decided to spell the holiday's name with an additional "a" to have seven symbolic letters.

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas. He believed Jesus was psychotic and Christianity was a "White" religion that Black people should shun. As Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, the creator altered his position so practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating in the 1997 book Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture that "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday." Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art, colorful African cloth such as kente, especially the wearing of kaftans by women, and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. Children are included in ceremonies and also give respect and gratitude to their ancestors. Food and drinks are shared, generally with a common chalice, Kikombe cha Umoja, passed around to all celebrants. The holiday greeting is "Joyous Kwanzaa". Non-African Americans also celebrate Kwanzaa.

A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, a reading of the African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day, or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast of faith.

Diwali
It is also called the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions. It symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance." Diwali is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin and Kartika—between around mid-September and mid-November—the celebrations generally last five or six days.

Diwali is connected to various religious events, deities, and personalities, such as when Rama returned to his kingdom in Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana after defeating the demon king Ravana.[16] It is also widely associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and Ganesha, the god of wisdom and overcoming obstacles.

During the festival, the celebrants illuminate their homes, temples, and workspaces with diyas (oil lamps), candles, and lanterns. Hindus, in particular, have a ritual oil bath at dawn each day of the festival. Diwali is also marked with fireworks, the decoration of floors with rangoli designs, and other parts of the house with jhalars. Food is a major focus, with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai.

The festival is an annual homecoming and bonding period for families, communities, and associations, particularly those in urban areas, which will organize activities, events, and gatherings. Many towns organize community parades and fairs with music and dance performances in parks.

Diwali is also a major cultural event for the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain diaspora. The main day of the festival of Diwali (the day of Lakshmi Puja) is an official holiday in Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, India, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Las Posadas
Las Posadas is a "novenario" (an extended devotional prayer in the Catholic faith). Las Posadas commemorates Joseph and Mary's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of a safe refuge where Mary could give birth to the baby Jesus. The name Posadas is derived from the Spanish word for lodging or accommodations, which, in this case, refers to the inn from the Nativity story. It uses the plural form as the celebration lasts for a nine-day interval during the Christmas season, which represents the nine-month pregnancy of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

It is celebrated in Latin America, particularly in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Spain, and Cuba, and by Hispanics in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24. While its roots are in Catholicism, Protestantism, and many secular Latinos also follow the tradition, adapting the traditions to their culture and region.

Las Posadas is celebrated in cities and towns across Mexico. Each evening during the festival, a small child dressed as an angel leads a procession through the town's streets. The procession primarily comprises children dressed in gold and silver robes carrying lit candles and images of Mary and Joseph riding a donkey. Adults, including musicians, follow the procession, which visits selected homes and asks for lodging for Mary and Joseph. Traditionally, the procession is always refused lodging, though the hosts often provide refreshments. Scripture passages are read at each stop, and Christmas carols are sung.

Mass is held every day after the procession, and at the end of the service, children break open piñatas filled with toys, candy, and, occasionally, money. The piñatas are usually crafted as a star, which is said to have guided the three wise men of biblical tradition to the newborn Jesus.

Yule/Winter Solstice
Yule is a festival historically observed by the Germanic people. The original celebrations of Yule are connected to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. The Winter Solstice, or Yule, is an important holiday celebrating the longest night of the year and what it represents the sun's return towards the earth. The festival celebrates the eventual return of life, spring, and fertility. While it has undergone many changes, it continues to be a festival that's celebrated by different groups of people, especially by Wiccans and Neopagans. Because there are many forms of Neopaganism today, Yule celebrations can vary.

Later, departing from its original roots, and with the advent of Christianity, Yule underwent a major transformation and became known as the Christian festival Christmastide. Most present-day Christmas traditions and customs, such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, the decorated trees, and most of the things we associate with the Christmas celebration, are actually from older pagan Yule traditions. Many pagan rituals and traditions were also adopted into the Christian version of the festival and continue to this day.

Yule is represented by many symbols, which revolve around the themes of fertility, life, renewal, and hope. Some of the most popular Yule symbols include

Undecorated evergreen trees. Red, green, and white colors. The red berries of holly which signified the blood of life. Green is for the evergreen trees that last all year. The white berries of mistletoe denote the purity and necessity of wintertime. Plants like mistletoe, ivy, and holly are also thought to bring protection and luck and stave off misfortune. Ivy stood for healing, fidelity, and marriage and was fashioned into wreaths, crowns, and garlands. Today, mistletoe is hung in rooms or entryways, and if two people happen to find themselves under it, tradition dictates that they must kiss—lastly, the Yule tree, wreaths, singing carols, bells, and the Yule log.

Soyal
Soyal is the winter solstice ceremony of the Zuni and Hopi people. It is held on December 21, the shortest day of the year. Participants ceremonially bring the sun back from its long slumber, mark the beginning of another cycle of the Wheel of the Year, and work on purification.

Pahos prayer sticks are made before the Soyal ceremony to bless the community, including homes, animals, and plants. The sacred underground kiva chambers are ritually opened to mark the beginning of the Kachina season.

The Hopi Soyal Winter Solstice Ceremony begins on the shortest day of the year and symbolizes the second phase of Creation at the Dawn of Life. Its prayers and rituals implement a plan of life for the coming year, ceremonially turning back the sun toward its summer path. The Hopi People, inhabitants of northern Arizona for over a thousand years, celebrate December when the Kachinas come down from their home in the San Francisco Peaks to bring the sun back to the world. The Katsinam or Kachinas, spirits guarding the Hopi, dance at the winter solstice Soyal Ceremony.

Boxing Day (Saint Stephen's Day)
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. It originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, but today, it is primarily known as a shopping holiday.

It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in several countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. Boxing Day is on December 26. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian holiday Saint Stephen's Day, and it's very similar to the American Black Friday.

The name, mostly used in the UK for December 26th, refers to a Christmas box traditionally given to servants and tradespeople, containing money, a gift, and sometimes leftover food. The European tradition of giving money and other gifts to those in need or service positions dates back to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin has yet to be discovered. It is sometimes believed to be about the alms box placed in the narthex of Christian churches to collect donations for the poor.

New Years Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, 31 December. The last day of the year is called "New Year's Eve." New Year's Eve is celebrated in many countries with dancing, drinking, eating, and watching or lighting fireworks. Some Christians attend a watch night service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.

New Years
is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins, and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. Other cultures observe their traditional or religious New Year's Day according to their customs.

Three-Kings Day or Epiphany Holiday
In the English-speaking world, the Christmas and holiday season tends to end with the celebration of New Year's Day. However, for those in Spanish-speaking countries, the holiday festivities extend all the way to January 6th.

Christians celebrate this day as the Epiphany – the day the three wise men found the newborn Jesus Christ after following a star through the desert for 12 days after his birth. While this day isn't quite as important for English-speaking Christians, for those in Spain and Latin America, it is a very important date marked with celebrations known as El Dia de los Reyes or Three Kings Day.

Just like Christmas, there is a heavy emphasis on gift-giving on Three Kings Day. Children all over the Spanish-speaking world sleep early the night before Three Kings Day so that the kings will come and leave them presents. In the same way, as families leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus, families will often leave salt, grass, and even cigars for the kings themselves– the first two are meant for the camels that the three kings are said to ride on. Parades and parties are commonplace. Some even include camels.

In Mexico and among Mexican families in the US, another tradition revolves around baking and eating a special treat known as rosca de reyes, or Three Kings bread. This is a sweet bread that contains a baby Jesus doll hidden within.

Three Kings Day is celebrated in many different cultures worldwide, with distinct feasts, parades, parties, and traditions unique to each individual place. However, one thing they all have in common is the importance of acknowledging this important day in biblical history.

Saint Nicholas Day
Saint Nicholas Day, also called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, is observed on 6 December. is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra; it falls within the season of Advent.[3] It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to Saint Nicholas' reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of church services.

Some of the custom traditions include children waiting for St. Nicholas to come and putting a present under their pillows, provided the children were good during the year. Children who behave badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. Some children also put out a shoe filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse.

On Saint Nicholas Day, gifts are tagged with personal, humorous rhymes written by the sender. One custom associated with Saint Nicholas Day is children leaving their shoes in the foyer on Saint Nicholas Eve, hoping that Saint Nicholas will place some coins on the soles.

The American Santa Claus, as well as the British Father Christmas, derive from Saint Nicholas. "Santa Claus" derives partly from the Dutch Sinterklaas, the saint's name in that language.

Ōmisoka
Omisoka is a Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, it was held on the final day of the 12th lunar month. With Japan's switch to using the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, December 31 (New Year's Eve) is now used for the celebration.

Ceremonies for welcoming the New Year on Omisoka are held at shrines and temples. At shrines, a ceremony is held to purify all uncleanliness of the year. A countdown event is also held at the bustling Shibuya Scramble Crossing. Although it isn't a traditional custom, it's a new trend that has become increasingly popular recently.

Important activities for the concluding year and day were traditionally completed to start the new year fresh. Some of these include house cleaning, repaying debts, purification (such as driving out evil spirits and bad luck), and bathing so the final hours of the year can be spent relaxing. Recently, families and friends often gather for parties, including the viewing of the over four-hour Kōhaku Uta Gassen on NHK or, more recently, to watch large mixed martial arts cards.

About an hour before the New Year, people often gather together for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi soba or toshikoshi udon together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with "crossing over from one year to the next," which is the meaning of toshi-koshi.

Traditionally, families make osechi on the last few days of the year. The food is then consumed during the first several days of the new year to "welcome the 'deity of the year' to each household" and "wish for happiness throughout the year."

At midnight, many visit a shrine or temple for Hatsumōde, or the year's first shrine/temple visit. Throughout Japan, Shinto shrines prepare amazake to pass out to crowds that gather as midnight approaches. Most Buddhist temples have a large bonshō (Buddhist bell) that is struck once for each of the 108 earthly temptations believed to cause human suffering.

Japanese New Year
Also called Shōgatsu, it is a yearly festival that takes place in Japan. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated on January 1 yearly according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Japanese eat a selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called osechi-ryōri, typically shortened to osechi. Many of these dishes are sour, sweet, or dried so that they can be kept without refrigeration: the culinary traditions date to a time before households had refrigerators and when most stores closed for the holidays. Another popular dish is ozōni, a soup with mochi rice cake and other ingredients, which differs in various regions of Japan. Eating buckwheat noodles called toshikoshi soba on ōmisoka is also very common. Today, sashimi and sushi are often eaten, as well as non-Japanese foods. To let the overworked stomach rest, seven-herb rice soup is prepared on the seventh day of January, a day known as jinjitsu.

Another custom is to create and eat rice cakes (mochi). Steamed sticky rice is put into a wooden container and patted with water by one person while another person hits it with a large wooden mallet. Mashing the rice it forms a sticky white dumpling.

On New Year's Day, Japanese people have a custom known as otoshidama, where adult relatives give money to children. It is handed out in small decorated envelopes. Watching the Emperor's Cup or playing games with one's family is also custom.

St. Lucia's Day
Saint Lucia's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on December 13. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-4th-century virgin martyr who, according to legend, brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way and leaving her hands free to carry as much food as possible. Her feast day, which coincided with the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, is widely celebrated as a festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucia's Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on Christmas Day.

Saint Lucia's Day is celebrated most widely in Scandinavia and Italy, with each emphasizing a different aspect of her story. In Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which symbolizes bringing the Light of Christ into the world's darkness. In both Catholic and Protestant churches, boys participate in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmastide, such as that of Saint Stephen or generic gingerbread men, Santa Clauses, or nisses. The celebration of Saint Lucy's Day is said to help one live the winter days with enough light.

Dongzhi Festival
The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice), which falls between December 21 and December 23. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, it is believed that days will have longer daylight hours, increasing positive energy flowing in.

The Chinese people first celebrated the festival during the Zhou Dynasty and declared an official celebration during the Han Dynasty. The Han people would take a break from work to celebrate with their families. They would hold heaven worshipping as well as honor their ancestors by burning joss paper at their ancestral shrines to show gratitude.

It was traditionally a very important holiday, comparable to Chinese New Year.

Rohatsu
Rohatsu is Japanese for "eighth day of the twelfth month." December 8 has come to be the day Japanese Zen Buddhists observe the enlightenment of the historical Buddha, sometimes called "Bodhi Day," Bodhi means "awakened" in Sanskrit, although in English, we tend to say "enlightened."

In Japanese Zen monasteries, Rohatsu is the last day of a week-long sesshin. A sesshin is an intensive meditation retreat in which all of one's waking time is dedicated to meditation. Even when not in the meditation hall, participants endeavor to maintain meditation focus at all times -- eating, washing, and doing chores. Silence is maintained unless speaking is absolutely necessary.

In a Rohatsu Sesshin, it is traditional for each evening's meditation period to be longer than the previous evening's. On the last night, those with enough stamina meditate through the night.

Mawlid el-Nabi
Mawlid al-Nabi, Arabic for the "birthday of the prophet," marks the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth. The celebration is sometimes called Mawlid, Milad, and Eid Milad un-Nabi. As the Islamic calendar runs on the lunar cycle, it is ten to 11 days shorter than the commonly used Gregorian calendar, meaning the date of Mawlid will change yearly.

Some Muslims commemorate the event because of its significance in Islam. The faithful believe that the Quran, God's final testament to mankind, was revealed to the prophet and that he was the most important messenger sent to humanity.

Those marking the event will attend special meals, often held at mosques with other community members, and spend the day reflecting on the teachings of the prophet. In some countries in the Middle East, streets are decorated for the occasion, food and sweets are distributed to the public, and fairs are open for children. Others will attend gatherings or lectures to learn more about the prophet's life and teachings.

Not all Muslims commemorate the prophet's birthday, as the occasion is neither obligatory nor outlined in Islamic teachings.

Sources

Winter Celebrations around the World

How different cultures and religions celebrate the winter season holidays differently. This blog post highlights the most popular ways people all over the world celebrate. The month of December is full of celebrations of all kinds, some of which as unique as the region of the world where they...

www.culturaldiversityresources.org

List of multinational festivals and holidays - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org