In This Issue: Fun Holiday Facts |
December is the Biggest Month for Holidays Gear Up for the Holiday Season with These Fun Facts about Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa |
 |
Ancient Roman observances of the Natalis solis invicti and the Saturnalia occurred in December and involved much feasting, singing, parades and other forms of celebrating. Not to be outdone, when the Church adopted Christmas it introduced a major Christian celebration and feasting became a part of the festivities. As the centuries wore on, depending upon the country, a Christmas goose, turkey or other animal was adopted as the main course in the Christmas feast. |
A goose was customary Christmas fare until Henry VIII took it upon himself to tuck into a turkey. Mince pies were once shaped like mangers and are thought to date back to the sweetmeats formerly presented to the Vatican on Christmas Eve. |
The Puritans in America tried to make Thanksgiving Day the most important annual festival instead of Christmas. |
Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht" for the first time. |
In 1836, Alabama is the first state in the USA to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1907, Oklahoma became the last USA state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. |
At midnight on Christmas Eve 1914 firing from the German trenches suddenly stopped. A German brass band began playing Christmas carols. Early, Christmas morning, the German soldiers came out of their trenches, approaching the allied lines, calling "Merry Christmas". At first the allied soldiers thought it was a trick, but they soon climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the German soldiers. The truce lasted a few days, and the men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings, sang carols and songs. They even played a game of Soccer. |
The Christmas tree was first decorated with lights in the 16th century. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to add lighted candles to the tree. He was so taken with the Christmas night sky that he wished to bring "the lights of the stars" into the home of his family. From this, decorating the tree with ornaments, messages and notes, and small gifts emerged in later centuries leading to our customs today. |
Hanging the Christmas stocking on the hearth on Christmas Eve in the hope that it will be filled with presents the next morning is a custom that goes back about 400 years. It derived from the custom in Holland of children placing wooden shoes next to the hearth the night before the arrival of St. Nicholas. The children would fill their shoes with straw and food for St Nicholas's for the donkey that carried the gifts. In exchange he would leave them a small gift such as small cakes, fruits and other gifts. Stockings were substituted for the shoes in Britain, most of Europe and in North America. |
The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Bing Crosby's White Christmas. |
Information Obtained from: Santa.net |
 |
Hanukkah, also called the “Festival of Lights,” starts on the 25th day of the Jewish calendar month of Kislev and lasts for eight days and nights. |
The Story The story of Hanukkah begins with the Greek conquest of Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Egypt and Palestine. During the rule of Alexander the Great, the people of these lands were able to practice their own religions and mostly govern themselves. Yet, as time went on, the Hellenistic rule became stronger and restrictions on the Jewish faith were imposed. As the story goes, Antiochus IV, the Greek King of Syria, removed the Jewish rabbi from their holy Temple. He installed his own priest and ordered the Jewish people to worship Zeus. While some Jews obeyed, others, led by Judah Maccabee, resisted. The small army eventually overcame the Greeks and won back their holy Temple. After the victory, the Temple had to be rededicated, but there was only enough purified oil (used to light the menorah) to last for one night. Yet, miraculously, the oil burned for eight days. Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil and the rededication of the Temple. Thus, the holiday is also called the Festival of Rededication. |
Traditions The lighting of the menorah is the most important Hanukkah tradition. The menorah is a candelabrum with nine stands. On each night of Hanukkah, a candle is lit. On the first night of Hanukkah, one candle is lit, on the second night, two and so on. The shammus, the large middle candle, is always used to lite the eight other candles. It always remains lit. The candles are added from right to left, but lit from left to right. Another Hanukkah tradition is playing the dreidel, a gambling game played with a square spinning top. Rather then play for money, the players throw in pennies or play with chocolate coins. |
What to Eat Like most holidays, Hanukkah comes with a few traditional foods. The most common Hanukkah food are latkes, or potato pancakes. Fried donuts filled with jelly are also eaten in many Eastern European countries and in Israel. |
Gifts The exchanging of gifts is a secular Hanukkah tradition that bears little religious significance. Often, parents or grandparents give children a small amount of money, called gelt, or larger Hanukkah gifts, though it is unusual for adults to exchange presents with each other |
Information Obtained From AOL’s Research & Learn Pages |
 |
Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December thru 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language. |
Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture among African American people as well as Africans throughout the world African community. These values are called the Nguzo Saba which in Swahili means the Seven Principles. Developed by Dr. Karenga, the Nguzo Saba stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa, for it is these values which are not only the building blocks for community but also serve to reinforce and enhance them. |
NGUZO SABA |
The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red and green; black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle. Therefore there is one black candle, three red and three green candles. These are the mishumaa saba (the seven candles) and they represent the seven principles. The black candle represents the first principle Umoja (unity) and is placed in the center of the kinara. The red candles represent the principles of Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujamaa (cooperative economics) and Kuumba (creativity) and are placed to the left of the black candle. The green candles represent the principles of Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Nia (purpose) and Imani (faith) and are placed to the right of the black candle. The black candle is lit first on the first day of the celebration. And the remaining candles are lit afterwards from left to right on the following days. This procedure is to indicate that the people come first, then the struggle and then the hope that comes from the struggle. |
Information Obtained from About.com |
