The end of December is probably the biggest season of celebrations across the world as people from all over have something to celebrate around this time, whether it is for religious reasons or to celebrate the end of something that has been and looking forward to what comes next. In this article we will take a brief look at some of the traditions and festivities associated with this time of year.
Have a lovely holiday everyone!
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A solstice occurs when the Earth is on its maximal tilt, which happens twice a year, in March and December. The December solstice is what we call winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, and the opposite, summer solstice, in the southern hemisphere, and this usually falls between the 21st and 22nd of December each year. In 2019, the December solstice happened at exactly 4:19 AM UTC on 22 December, and in this moment, the North Pole was the furthest away from the sun it will be until next winter solstice.
Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere goes under many names, with some of the most known being Midwinter, The Longest Night, Yule and Jól. Solstices have been celebrated, feared and been a mystery for people of all cultures as long as humans have walked the Earth, from ancient times all up until today. The Vikings celebrated this day as Jól (or Yule in English), which has many similarities to what is now celebrated in Scandinavia as the holiday Jul, or Christmas. Some historians argue that the Christians adopted many of the traditions from the norse to make the transition over to Christianity simpler for people. For example, to decorate an evergreen tree was something the Vikings did, because these trees were a symbol of life in the forests while all the other trees looked dead during the dark winter months. Therefore they decorated the trees with small carvings and presents for the spirits of the trees and plants in hopes that they would wake up and let spring begin.
The ancient Romans also had their way of celebrating the return of the sun, though not as obvious. With piecing together different historical sources, historians have found that the ancient Romans had a festival in the days leading up to winter solstice, the festival of Saturnalia. This festival was made in honor of the god Saturn, and was originally celebrated on the 17th of December, but later expanded to last up until the 23rd. In some sources, Saturnalia is described as a “festival of light” leading to the darkest day, winter solstice. Later on in the Roman Empire, 23 December was celebrated as “Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun”, which marked the sun’s return. Though there are uncertainties if any of this actually did happen, and whether the holiday was actually celebrated because of winter solstice.
Today, winter solstice is celebrated by Wiccans and people with other pagan beliefs as Yule, which marks the return of the light and that the days in the northern hemisphere will gradually become longer. For some, yule is also the sabbat that begins the wiccan year, and it’s a time of rebirth, as they celebrate the rebirth of the Sun King. This is a time where many people quietly gather together with their loved ones indoors, though some go out to light bonfires.
Whether any of the holidays celebrated around winter solstice are linked or not, it is safe to say that the yearly occurrence of the sun’s turn, or return, does something to people, whether you look at it from a scientific or religious perspective.
A solstice occurs when the Earth is on its maximal tilt, which happens twice a year, in March and December. The December solstice is what we call winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, and the opposite, summer solstice, in the southern hemisphere, and this usually falls between the 21st and 22nd of December each year. In 2019, the December solstice happened at exactly 4:19 AM UTC on 22 December, and in this moment, the North Pole was the furthest away from the sun it will be until next winter solstice.
Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere goes under many names, with some of the most known being Midwinter, The Longest Night, Yule and Jól. Solstices have been celebrated, feared and been a mystery for people of all cultures as long as humans have walked the Earth, from ancient times all up until today. The Vikings celebrated this day as Jól (or Yule in English), which has many similarities to what is now celebrated in Scandinavia as the holiday Jul, or Christmas. Some historians argue that the Christians adopted many of the traditions from the norse to make the transition over to Christianity simpler for people. For example, to decorate an evergreen tree was something the Vikings did, because these trees were a symbol of life in the forests while all the other trees looked dead during the dark winter months. Therefore they decorated the trees with small carvings and presents for the spirits of the trees and plants in hopes that they would wake up and let spring begin.
The ancient Romans also had their way of celebrating the return of the sun, though not as obvious. With piecing together different historical sources, historians have found that the ancient Romans had a festival in the days leading up to winter solstice, the festival of Saturnalia. This festival was made in honor of the god Saturn, and was originally celebrated on the 17th of December, but later expanded to last up until the 23rd. In some sources, Saturnalia is described as a “festival of light” leading to the darkest day, winter solstice. Later on in the Roman Empire, 23 December was celebrated as “Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun”, which marked the sun’s return. Though there are uncertainties if any of this actually did happen, and whether the holiday was actually celebrated because of winter solstice.
Today, winter solstice is celebrated by Wiccans and people with other pagan beliefs as Yule, which marks the return of the light and that the days in the northern hemisphere will gradually become longer. For some, yule is also the sabbat that begins the wiccan year, and it’s a time of rebirth, as they celebrate the rebirth of the Sun King. This is a time where many people quietly gather together with their loved ones indoors, though some go out to light bonfires.
Whether any of the holidays celebrated around winter solstice are linked or not, it is safe to say that the yearly occurrence of the sun’s turn, or return, does something to people, whether you look at it from a scientific or religious perspective.
Christmas is an annual celebration of the birth of Jesus. It’s primarily celebrated around the 24th-25th December, but the date varies depending on different cultures and religions. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, which is celebrated by a majority of Christians and also by a lot of non-Christians.
During the holiday families and friends get together, decorate their houses with Christmas decorations such as Christmas trees and then usually have a big family dinner. Most people decorate their Christmas trees with Christmas ornaments and glitter and usually a star in the top and then they usually put gifts under the tree. For the dinner people usually eat ham, turkey, porridge, Christmas cookies and root vegetables. Singing Christmas carols is something that is also very common during Christmas. Some common Christmas songs are “Jingle Bells”, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “O come, All Ye Faithful”. In Christian countries people usually attend church services. The celebration and traditions can be very different depending on where you live in the world and how religious the country is.
The gift-bringers are called and look different depending on where you live. In most countries it’s Santa Claus dressed in a red costume with a big white beard who gives the children their gifts but there is also Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, who has a big white beard and a red hat with a cross.
Hanukkah, or Chanukah, is a Jewish festival, which starts on the 25th day of Kislev, according to the Hebrew calendar, and traditionally lasts for eight days and nights. The exact start date for the festival varies and can occur anywhere from late November to late December. In 2019 the festival started at sunset on 22 December.
The festival, which can also be called Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication or Feast of the Maccabees, is celebrated because, according to legend, the Jews had risen up against the Greek-Syrian Maccabean Revolt during the second century B.C. and gotten the Temple in Jerusalem rededicated and purified.
During the festival, people light a candle for one of the eight days that are celebrated, hence the nine branched candelabrum, called a Hanukkah menorah or hanukiah, being one of the symbols one associate with Hanukkah. The candelabrum has nine branches because the candle of the ninth, often placed slightly above or below the other candles, is used to light the other eight candles.
Kwanzaa is a week long celebration from December 26th- January 1st. Its primarily celebrated in the United States and other nations of the African diaspora in the Amricas. The primary reason for Kwanzaa is to celebrate the African heritage, unity and culture in the African American community. It was created and celebrated in 1966 by Maulana Karenga.
Kwanzaa is made up of the seven principles of Kwanzaa (also called Nguzu Saba) Each of the seven principles is celebrated on one of the seven days, and are as followed:
Umoja (unity): To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community,etc
Kujichagulia (Self Determination): To define ourselves as well as speak for ourselves.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To maintain our community and make others problems our problems.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own shops and businesses and profit with them together.
Nia (Purpose): To make our collective goals the building and development of our community in order to restore people to their greatness.
Kuumba (Creativity): To do as much as we can in the way we can to make our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
Imani (Faith): To believe in our people, parents, teachers, leaders and the righteousness of our struggle.
People who celebrate Kwanzaa use a candle holder called a Kinara that holds all 7 candles, and is based off the Menorah from Hanukkah. There are 3 red candles on the right, 3 green candles on the left, and one black in the center. Each day a candle is lit, with the black candle being lit first and the remaining lit from left to right. Each candle has a different meaning. The black one represents the african people, the red represents their struggle, and the green represents the future and hope.
I didn't know much about Kwanzaa before I researched this so most of this information was found online. If I have gotten anything wrong, please let me know so I can fix it as I don’t want to offend anyone. Thanks, and Joyous Kwanzaa!
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