Day 23: Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa

Christmas

As Christian festivals replaced pagan ones, the life-renewing winter solstice festivities seemed a good time to celebrate Jesus' birth. Over the centuries, folk customs celebrting the coming of longer days were combined with church observances celebrating the "Sun of Righteousness." Today, Christmas is a sum of customs, most observed for so long that their origins have been forgotten.

Hanukkah Lights, Symbolism and Blessings

However, in contemporary English there are at least 16 ways to spell this deeply spiritual Jewish holiday, including: Channuka, Channukah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanuko, Hannuka, Hannukah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukkah, Kanukkah, Khannuka, Khannukah, Khanuka, Khanukah, Khanukkah, and Xanuka.

Regardless of its spelling, Hanukkah focuses on the most historically documented of the Jewish holidays.

The most important observance associated with Hanukkah is the kindling of the Hanukkah lights on the Menorah or Hanukkiya, a nine-branch candelabra. On each night one more light is lit, beginning with one candle on the first night of Hanukkah and ending with the eighth on the final evening.

The lighting is accompanied by the chanting of appropriate blessings and the singing of songs.

The ninth branch is reserved for the shamash, the servant light, which is lit first and used to kindle the other lights of the Menorah.

In a broader sense, however, the Hanukkah light symbolizes the light of religious, national and cultural freedom won by the Maccabees for their people.

It gave new force to a faith that had waned under the influence of Greek Hellenism, and Jewish culture began to flourish once again.

Similarly the Hebrew language, which had been largely supplanted by Greek, came into its own once more, and has remained as a unifying tradition among Jewish people the world over.

Kwanzaa - An African-American holiday celebration

It was started in 1966 by Doctor Maulana Karenga, Professor at the California State University, Long Beach, California.

The seven day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in present day America. Kwanzaa is based on African festivals. The word means "the first fruits."

• Umoja (unity) to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
• Kujichagulia (self-determination) to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (collective work and responsibility) to build and maintain our community together and make our sister's and brother's problems our problems and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (cooperative economics) to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses together.
• Nia (purpose) to make our collective vocation the building of our community to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (creativity) to do as much as we can to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (faith) to believe with our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Karamu (the feast)

Kikombe Cha Umoja (unity cup)

Kinara (candle holder)

Mazao (fruits, ground provision, vegetables)

Mkeka (mat, usually straw)

Mishumaa Saba (seven candles)

Muhindi (ear of corn)

Nguzo Saba (seven principles)

Umoja (unity, the black center candle)

Zawadi (gifts)

Red for the blood our people shed

Green for the hope and the color of the motherland

Each candle represents a distinct principle beginning with Umoja.

Candles are then lit each day alternately from left to right. Three green candles should be placed on the left and three red candles should be placed on the right.