Dear Arlington High School Community,
This year, I have been sending out explainers and greetings for each holiday on the Arlington High School calendar. In that spirit, I offer these notes, culled from my usual sources, on Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah, all of which fall during our break this year.
For those of us in schools, the holiday break is a time of reflection and restoration. It is also a challenging time for some and we encourage everyone to reach out for support, if you or someone you care about is suffering.
Our calendar shows the first day of the Jewish festival of Chanukah//Hanukkah as December 23. This means that the observance begins the evening of December 22. We wish our Jewish community a happy Hanukkah.
Hanukkah is described as the festival of lights, and lasts for eight days. Hanukkah commemorates the Jewish struggle for religious freedom. The history of the holiday involves a historic military victory in which a Jewish sect called the Maccabees defeated the Syrian Greeks. The celebration commemorates a miracle in which a sacred temple flame burned for eight days on only one day’s worth of oil.
On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, Observant Jewish families light an additional candle of the menorah candelabrum until all eight candles are lit. Jews celebrate in the evening, with food and song, as well as exchanging gifts for eight days.
Hanukkah is not a holiday from work, but families often enjoy some evening time together and individual families may have traditions that make a specific evening participation difficult.
As holiday celebrations are all around us at this time of year, Christmas may need no explanation. In the US, Christmas is both a religious and cultural celebration emphasizing Jesus’ message of peace and charity. Christmas is an annual celebration commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah whose message and self-sacrifice began the Christian religion. Christmas day is a public holiday celebrated by billions in many of the world’s nations, and is celebrated culturally by a large number of non-Christian people. In the Western Christian tradition, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, the one we use in the United States.
In addition, several figures, alternately known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Pere Noel, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore.
Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas cards, church services, charity, community service, singing traditional songs, decorating Christmas trees, Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus, hanging wreaths, and gatherings of family and friends.
Kwanzaa also falls during this time of year. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration honoring African heritage and African-American culture. Historian and activist Maulana Karenga developed the holiday in the 1960s. It is not a religious holiday, per se, but is a cultural celebration. Kwanzaa has seven core principles: Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Kwanzaa is observed every year from December 26th–January 1st.
Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa to all,
Dr. J
NOTE: Our school calendar includes holidays and observances that are significant in our community. As a regular feature, I try to send updates on these observances and information on accommodations. We are not always familiar with all the holidays, with which religions are represented in our classrooms, or with the nature of different traditions. I encourage you to send me notes to educate us on the appropriate and positive ways to recognize and support the diversity of our community. Also, please notify your teachers well in advance of any special considerations you feel you need, so that they can make appropriate plans.
SOURCES: For anyone wondering, I gather this information from Wikipedia, information sent to me, a few college interfaith chaplain sites, and greeting cards. I don’t use quotations or citations much, because I am claiming neither expertise nor scholarship. Kids, don’t do this for homework