Looking for a playlist? For some reason, my mood has been very To Heck With Ole Santa Claus, but maybe you’re feeling a bit more jazzy.
Kathy asked about other holidays that happen in December. I talked a little about Hanukkah, Krampusnacht and Saturnalia, but thought I’d spare a word for some others.
Festivus
If you kinda hate Seinfeld, this one probably haunts you. But you may not know that Festivus is a real dad-invented holiday. Daniel O’Keefe, an editor at Reader’s Digest for over three decades, originally founded Festivus to celebrate the first date with his wife. Not the “as I rained blows upon him” incredible origin story of the show, but it was catchy. When his son’s fellow Seinfeld writers learned of the tradition, they became fascinated with it and insisted on including it in the show. While many details were changed or replaced, it stuck in the cultural zeitgeist as a reaction to the commercial aspects of Christmas.
And I think there’s something about the Airing of Grievances that appeals to all of us.
Christmas Eve Eve
Okay, not so much a holiday as a fun idea. You’ve probably seen the gif from Friends. But it’s a mini holiday, a chance for friends to gather before everyone is committed to seeing family on Christmas Eve and Day.
Winter Solstice
The first day of winter is the “shortest” day of the year (for the Northern Hemisphere. It’s the longest for the Southern.) To be more precise, it’s the point when the Sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky. The winter solstice is the point at which we turn toward more sunlight and shorter nights.
Our ancestors certainly noticed this phenomenon and marked the time in various ways, often celebrating the “death” and “rebirth” of the Sun. Which leads us to…
Yule
Celebrated around the winter solstice, Yuletide is a general term for winter celebrations of Germanic peoples and Norse regions. I talked a good deal about this one last year.
Modern pagans and Wiccans celebrate Yule as a part of the cycle of the year. Celebrating the winter solstice is often seen as a symbolic rebirth of the god aspect.
The Yule log is a tradition that seems to straddle pagan and Christian influences. And dessert tables, I reckon.
Saint Lucy’s Day/Feast of Saint Lucia
This is a Christian feast day to honor Lucia of Syracuse. Legend tells that she wore a wreath with candles on her head to leave her hands free to bring food to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs. Celebrated on December 13th, Saint Lucy’s Day was long considered to be the shortest day of the year before calendars were reformed. The candles were a symbol of hope and the growing daylight.
Celebrations vary, but typically, there is procession of children carrying candles, sometimes led by a girl dressed as Saint Lucy. Lucia buns or cookies are sometimes carried.
Boxing Day
I talked about this one last year.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa celebrates seven beautiful principles; Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).
I think for a lot of us, Kwanzaa as been unfairly painted as a “made up” holiday (as if I haven’t pointed out to you repeatedly here how every holiday is something we’ve invented). Race definitely plays into the equation, and attempts to delegitimize Kwanzaa are at their core attempts to minimize Black identity.
That said, Kwanzaa hasn’t caught on in many households because of its problematic founder. There’s also the fact that many people just have a stronger preference for Christmas, especially Christians. Kwanzaa was originally conceived of as a replacement to Christmas, but many observers today don’t see it as an either/or.
Holiday
Pastafarianism. ‘Nuff said.
What Else?
I’m sure I’m missing some! I’d love to learn about them, so comment, comment, comment!