Winter Solstice 2009: Most Wonderful Time Of The Year! Winter Holiday Q & A From Eid al-Adha to Yule
Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009
by Edward Rhymes
Introduction
The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23 26'. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is a sort of like a used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs.
For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The Winter Solstice is also the shortest day or lowest sun position for people in low latitudes located between the Tropic of Cancer (2326'N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (2326'S).
Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice occurs sometime between December 21 and December 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and between June 20 and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Winter is marked by and full of significance for many cultures. I thought it would be important to have a better understanding of some of our own traditions and those customs of other cultures as well.
Winter Holiday Q & A:
Q. What's up with all the candles?
A. Candles are hopeful symbols because they bring light and warmth into people's homes. Winter nights are long, dark, and cold, and many winter holidays happen on or near the winter solstice. The solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
The lack of sunlight can be pretty gloomy, especially if you don't have electricity! By lighting candles, people can make winter a little more cheerful and remind themselves of the sunlight and spring to come, so it makes sense that candles have long been part of many winter holidays. The main exceptions are the candles of the Hanukkah menorah; they're lit to commemorate a miracle in which a small container of sacred oil burned for eight nights; and the lighting of the candles in the kinara during Kwanzaa --- each candle symbolizes a different community principle of Kwanzaa.
Q. What is Yule?
A. Yule is a winter festival that stems from the traditions of ancient Germanic people. Yule coincides with the winter solstice and is celebrated from December to early January. During the Yule season, people decorate fir trees; hang holly branches, exchange gifts, and burn a Yule log.
Before Christianity, pagan people celebrated the winter solstice with feasting and merriment. As time passed, missionaries worked to convert people to Christianity by combining ancient pagan traditions with important dates in the Christian calendar. Now, many of these old rituals are associated with Christian holidays -- Easter eggs, for example, are a modern version of an ancient pagan symbol.
Q. What is Boxing Day and its origin?
A. Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas. It is observed as a public holiday in Commonwealth nations-those are countries that used to be part of the British Empire, and still consider the Queen of England their ceremonial head of state. Aside from the United Kingdom, Commonwealth nations include Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The name "Boxing Day" came from a tradition of wealthy people giving gifts called "Christmas boxes" to their servants and the poor on the day after Christmas. Traditionally, servants had to work on Christmas, serving and preparing wealthy people's Christmas dinners, but they'd be given the day off on Boxing Day, and thanked for their service with money, clothes, food, and other things they needed.
Q. What is Eid al-Adha?
A. Eid al-Adha is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims. It commemorates the ancient story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah (or God). People visit each others' homes and partake in festive meals with special dishes, beverages, and desserts.
Children receive gifts and sweets. Muslims who can afford to do so offer domestic animals, usually sheep, as symbols of Abraham's sacrifice, and much of the meat is given to the poor. Prayer is also an important component of Eid al-Adha.
Q. What is Hanukkah?
A. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that's also known as the festival of lights. It's an eight-day festival that begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which usually falls sometime in late November or December. For more information, give my article on Hanukkah a read.
Q. Why do some people write "Xmas" instead of Christmas?
A. Sometimes people refer to the Christian holiday of Christmas as "Xmas." In Ancient Greek, the first letter in the word "Christos," or "Christ," is "chi," which looks like an "X." People write "Xmas" as a kind of shorthand.
Q. How did we come to celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December?
A. On Christmas, people celebrate the birth of Jesus--the central figure of the Christian religion. But how it came to be celebrated on December 25 is a long, involved story.
People throughout time have had celebrations focusing around the winter solstice, which falls on December 21. The Romans, in particular, had a very popular holiday called "dies natalis solis invicti," which celebrated the "birth" of a sun god.
The Bible does not give a date for the birth of Jesus, and the celebration of Christmas on December 25 did not become popular until about the 3rd or 4th century C.E. So it is extremely likely that the early Christian Church chose to place the date of Christmas around the winter solstice in order to discourage people from celebrating a pagan holiday and to encourage them to celebrate a Christian holiday instead.
Q. What is Kwanzaa?
A. Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder) --- each night, one or more of seven candle(s); one black, three red and three green, is lit. It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, primarily in the United States.
Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated from December 26, 1966, to January 1, 1967.
Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba-the seven principles of Blackness)
A. Groundhog Day is an American and Canadian holiday celebrated every February 2. According to tradition, if a groundhog leaves its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will return to the burrow and there will be six more weeks of winter.
If it doesn't see its shadow, then spring is coming! The tradition has various origins, including the folklore of Germans living in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. The biggest celebration of Groundhog Day happens in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the resident groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil.
Q. What was the Christmas Truce of World War I?
A. The Christmas truce between German troops and British troops began on Christmas Eve, 1914 in Ypres, Belgium. The German soldiers were decorating their trenches with candles, and began singing carols. Soon, the English started singing too. Then, they shouted greetings to each other, followed by visits across the battlefield to exchange gifts like whisky, jam, chocolate, tobacco, and other treats.
A few groups even played football against one another! In some places, the truce just lasted for one night, but in others, the two forces didn't resume fighting until after New Year's. The truce enabled people to rest, bury those who had fallen in battle, and to write home to family members.
I hope you were able to gain some insight into the winter holidays of our world. I sincerely hope that yours, whatever it may be, is blessed.
The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23 26'. Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant in time, the term is a sort of like a used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs.
For most people in the high latitudes this is commonly known as the shortest day and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. The Winter Solstice is also the shortest day or lowest sun position for people in low latitudes located between the Tropic of Cancer (2326'N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (2326'S).
Winter is marked by and full of significance for many cultures. I thought it would be important to have a better understanding of some of our own traditions and those customs of other cultures as well.
Winter Holiday Q & A:
Q. What's up with all the candles?
A. Candles are hopeful symbols because they bring light and warmth into people's homes. Winter nights are long, dark, and cold, and many winter holidays happen on or near the winter solstice. The solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
The lack of sunlight can be pretty gloomy, especially if you don't have electricity! By lighting candles, people can make winter a little more cheerful and remind themselves of the sunlight and spring to come, so it makes sense that candles have long been part of many winter holidays. The main exceptions are the candles of the Hanukkah menorah; they're lit to commemorate a miracle in which a small container of sacred oil burned for eight nights; and the lighting of the candles in the kinara during Kwanzaa --- each candle symbolizes a different community principle of Kwanzaa.
Q. What is Yule?
A. Yule is a winter festival that stems from the traditions of ancient Germanic people. Yule coincides with the winter solstice and is celebrated from December to early January. During the Yule season, people decorate fir trees; hang holly branches, exchange gifts, and burn a Yule log.
Before Christianity, pagan people celebrated the winter solstice with feasting and merriment. As time passed, missionaries worked to convert people to Christianity by combining ancient pagan traditions with important dates in the Christian calendar. Now, many of these old rituals are associated with Christian holidays -- Easter eggs, for example, are a modern version of an ancient pagan symbol.
Q. What is Boxing Day and its origin?
A. Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas. It is observed as a public holiday in Commonwealth nations-those are countries that used to be part of the British Empire, and still consider the Queen of England their ceremonial head of state. Aside from the United Kingdom, Commonwealth nations include Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
The name "Boxing Day" came from a tradition of wealthy people giving gifts called "Christmas boxes" to their servants and the poor on the day after Christmas. Traditionally, servants had to work on Christmas, serving and preparing wealthy people's Christmas dinners, but they'd be given the day off on Boxing Day, and thanked for their service with money, clothes, food, and other things they needed.
Q. What is Eid al-Adha?
A. Eid al-Adha is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims. It commemorates the ancient story of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah (or God). People visit each others' homes and partake in festive meals with special dishes, beverages, and desserts.
Children receive gifts and sweets. Muslims who can afford to do so offer domestic animals, usually sheep, as symbols of Abraham's sacrifice, and much of the meat is given to the poor. Prayer is also an important component of Eid al-Adha.
Q. What is Hanukkah?
A. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that's also known as the festival of lights. It's an eight-day festival that begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which usually falls sometime in late November or December. For more information, give my article on Hanukkah a read.
Q. Why do some people write "Xmas" instead of Christmas?
A. Sometimes people refer to the Christian holiday of Christmas as "Xmas." In Ancient Greek, the first letter in the word "Christos," or "Christ," is "chi," which looks like an "X." People write "Xmas" as a kind of shorthand.
Q. How did we come to celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December?
A. On Christmas, people celebrate the birth of Jesus--the central figure of the Christian religion. But how it came to be celebrated on December 25 is a long, involved story.
People throughout time have had celebrations focusing around the winter solstice, which falls on December 21. The Romans, in particular, had a very popular holiday called "dies natalis solis invicti," which celebrated the "birth" of a sun god.
The Bible does not give a date for the birth of Jesus, and the celebration of Christmas on December 25 did not become popular until about the 3rd or 4th century C.E. So it is extremely likely that the early Christian Church chose to place the date of Christmas around the winter solstice in order to discourage people from celebrating a pagan holiday and to encourage them to celebrate a Christian holiday instead.
Q. What is Kwanzaa?
A. Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder) --- each night, one or more of seven candle(s); one black, three red and three green, is lit. It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, primarily in the United States.
Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated from December 26, 1966, to January 1, 1967.
Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba-the seven principles of Blackness)
- Umoja(Unity): To strive for and to 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 brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
- Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
- Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
- Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
- Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
A. Groundhog Day is an American and Canadian holiday celebrated every February 2. According to tradition, if a groundhog leaves its burrow on this day and sees its shadow, it will return to the burrow and there will be six more weeks of winter.
If it doesn't see its shadow, then spring is coming! The tradition has various origins, including the folklore of Germans living in Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries. The biggest celebration of Groundhog Day happens in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the resident groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil.
Q. What was the Christmas Truce of World War I?
A. The Christmas truce between German troops and British troops began on Christmas Eve, 1914 in Ypres, Belgium. The German soldiers were decorating their trenches with candles, and began singing carols. Soon, the English started singing too. Then, they shouted greetings to each other, followed by visits across the battlefield to exchange gifts like whisky, jam, chocolate, tobacco, and other treats.
A few groups even played football against one another! In some places, the truce just lasted for one night, but in others, the two forces didn't resume fighting until after New Year's. The truce enabled people to rest, bury those who had fallen in battle, and to write home to family members.
I hope you were able to gain some insight into the winter holidays of our world. I sincerely hope that yours, whatever it may be, is blessed.
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