By: Isabelle Huang
During the month of December, there are multiple festivities and holidays that people celebrate around the world. Of which, Christmas is one of the most popular holidays. However, there are also other celebrations and holidays that take place during this time of the year. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are also observed during the winter holiday season. Although both holidays may not be as widely celebrated as Christmas but, they still hold important meanings and history behind them. Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days and starts on December 26th and lasts until January 1st. This holiday first started in 1966 and was introduced to the United States by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a ritual to welcome the first harvests’ arrival. Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community, and culture in addition to reconnect with people’s African roots and heritage. During the celebration, a different principle is discussed along with lighting a candle each night. Additionally, the number seven has significant meaning for this holiday. There are seven principles and seven symbols that guide the values and traditions during this 7-day celebration period. Interestingly, the word Kwanzaa is also spelled with seven letters. . Hanukkah (Festival of lights), on the other hand, is an 8-day holiday which celebrates the rededication of the temple of Jerusalem after it was retaken by the Maccabees. The Maccabees were a group of Jewish warriors from the Greeks in the 2nd century B.C.E. This holiday is important because it reminds Jews about dedication and what they went through to preserve Judaism through tough times. Despite Hanukkah’s different origin, it shares the tradition of gift-giving just like Christmas and Kwanzaa except the gift-giving lasts for eight days! Similar to Kwanzaa, Hanukkah also lights a candle each night. During the celebration, families eat fried food such as potato pancakes (Latkes) and doughnuts (Sufganiyot). Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, and/or Hanukkah during this holiday season, please be sure to stay safe and have a great winter break! Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/hanukkah https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/kwanzaa-history https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/connect/talk-back/what-is-kwanzaa/ https://www.learnreligions.com/hanukkah-food-traditions-2076422 SPCA is a place where animals can get adopted and taken care of. You can help some of these pets who need medical care and a home or to save and protect them by donating some money! Especially during the holidays! You can start donating today and in the future to help these pets. Go to https://www.sfspca.org/get-involved/donate to donate now. If you would like to adopt a pet, go to https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions. Happy Holidays! 🎄🌟
By Lyna Milan
Have you ever wondered what christmas was like before the flannel pajamas, santa claus, and rudolph the red nosed reindeer? Well, that’s what I’m here for. Christmas in the olden days was not even close to what you think of when you think of Christmas. Ya know those beautiful Christmas trees with the lights and the ornaments? Well, electricity was either expensive, or non-existent depending on the year we’re talking about. So those red and blue lights you’re used to seeing on every christmas tree you’ve ever seen, weren’t even invented yet. And in 1916, everybody’s attention was pointed to the war that was going on. 1916 was a scary and bloody year, so everybody was worried about what would happen. Even Christmas was different. Most of the money people would spend on presents, would be donated to winning the war. But even though there were wars and those christmas carols everybody sings weren’t invented, people still loved christmas. People still sat by the christmas tree and had nice warm meals. So even though the coronavirus is sweeping through the world, and everybody is trying to stay safe, the christmas spirit is still here, so I hope you have a very merry Christmas. And I’ll see you next year. |
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October 2022
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