December – a month of holidays for all

Capt. (Chaplain) Mark McKellen

When one mentions December, the first thing that comes to mind is Christmas. There are however, other celebrations this month that you may or may not know about. For those of the Jewish faith there is a festival called Hanukkah or Chanukah. Another celebration for this time of year is Kwanzaa. Each of the celebrations have a unique history. Before discussing Christmas, let’s look at the history behind Hanukah and Kwanzaa.

Hanukkah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays. Not because of any religious significance, but because of its proximity of this holiday to Christmas.

Under the reign of Alexander the Great, many Jews assimilated into Greek culture, yet still were permitted religious freedom. This freedom ended when Antiochus IV came to the throne in 174 B.C. He had the Temple of the Jews desecrated after having his priest and soldiers sacrifice pigs on the altar. Mattathias, the Hamonean, and Judah Maccabee began a successful revolution against the oppression.

The result was freedom for Jewish people and the rededication of the Temple.

However, only one small flask of lamp oil remained for the menorah, which symbolized Israel as a light of the world and was supposed to burn day and night. There was only enough oil for a single day, but, the menorah burned brightly for eight days.

An eight-day festival was declared to commemorate the miracle of the oil rather than the victory of war.

Kwanzaa is a relatively recent celebration developed by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga who began the practice in 1966.

Kwanzaa is usually celebrated Dec. 26-Jan. 1 and each day is focused on Nguzo Saba, or seven principles.

These principles are “umoja” (unity), which is nation and family unity; “kujichagulia” (self-determination), which means self-determination; “ujima” (collective work and responsibility), a principle to build and maintain the community; “ujamaa” (cooperative economics), building and maintaining stores, shops and businesses in order to profit from them together; “nia” (purpose), a principle that teaches building and developing communities to restore the African people to their traditional greatness; “kuumba” (creativity), to do as much as possible to leave the community better than when it was inherited; and “imani” (faith), to believe in the people, the parents, teachers, leaders, and the righteousness and victory of the struggle of Africans around the world.

Christmas has its roots in the Roman Empire. During the Roman Empire there were two celebrations during December: Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture; and Juvenalia, which honored the children of Rome.

Although Scripture does not state specifically what time of year Jesus Christ was born, some scholars believe it was during the spring. In the fourth century, Pope Julius I chose Dec. 25th and some believe this was done so those who celebrated the winter solstice would also embrace Christmas. As time passed, there was more of an emphasis on the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

During the 1800s in America, Christmas Eve was a time to attend church. Christmas Day was a time of celebration by sharing gifts with loved ones and decorating homes with lights. These lights were a symbol of Jesus being the light of the world.

Christmas was declared a federal holiday June 26, 1870.