Christmas and Hanukkah are often the holidays we think of being most celebrated in the winter. But in fact, there are many more holidays, all with a very different meaning that are enjoyed by others.
Christmas is an annual holiday, known as “Jesus’s Birthday”. It was first celebrated in 336 CE. Hanukkah is the “festival of lights” and is celebrated by Jewish people. Hannakuah was first celebrated in 164 B.C.E.
Back in the 5th century, the first Yule celebration took place in Scandinavia. Yule is historically celebrated by Germanic people and generally neo-pagans. Neo-pagans are people that believe in many gods.
Yule is one of the oldest winter solstice festivals. A big and popular remaining tradition for Yule is the “Yule Goat”. Throughout towns in Sweden, large goats would be constructed out of straw. Yule occurs from December 21st through January 1st this year.
“Yes, I have heard about Yule from my mom. I know it’s a holiday in December.” NHS sophomore Matheus Allen said.
Kwanzaa is another holiday that is less popular during the holiday season, and occurs from December 26th through January 1st this year.
The first celebration of Kwanzaa happened in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Kwanzaa is a time for families to celebrate the past and celebrate African-American culture, and honor their ancestors.
“I've heard of Kwanzaa. It's celebrated in America and it’s the protection of African culture,” NHS sophomore Sophia Araujo said.
The countries that historically celebrate Kwanzaa the most are Jamaica, Canada, France, and Brazil. Some traditions in Kwanzaa include lighting the candles, preparing and sharing food, and putting up ears of dried corn and other traditional African crops. Similar to Hanukkah,there are candles that are to be lit, but the Kwanzaa candle holder is called a “kinara”.
Bodhi Day is celebrated on December 8th of this year. It is a holiday celebrated by the Mahayana Buddhists and originated in Bodh Gaya, which is a small town in India.
Bodhi Day came to be 2,500 years ago. It marks the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha. He meditated underneath the “Bodhi Tree”, which is very famous today.
Some traditions include meditation, chanting of Buddhist texts, and performing kind acts towards each other. The symbol of Bodhi day is a ficus leaf because many Buddhists plant ficus leafs.
Boxing Day, which is celebrated in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, is historically a holiday where servants would be given time off and thanked for their hard work with an exciting “box” of treats.
It was originally founded in Britain, in 1663. This was when the upper class would take leftover food and goods and give them to the poor on December 26th. Families will also gather together, and have home cooked meals. Boxing Day will always occur on the day after Christmas.
“I’ve heard about it. I know that it happens the day after Christmas.” NHS sophomore Ella Schuster said.
Although these holidays are not widely celebrated, a few students have heard of them.
Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe is a holiday celebrated on December 12th this year. It is a holiday that celebrates the Virgin Mary appearing in front of a peasant in 1531. It originated in Tepeyac Hill, which is now a suburb in Mexico City.
It is a Catholic holiday, and it is known as a day of admiration and praying.
Some traditions include a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe being placed, packing the churches until late at night, or until early in the morning, and having a feast to mark the ending of the celebration. Food is a vital part of this holiday, it shows hospitality.
Yule, Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, and Boxing day, are all holidays celebrated in December and should have more recognition because they all have an individually important meaning.
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