Winter Celebrations Around the World

Holidays Around the World Winter Celebrations All around the world, different cultures and countries have winter celebrations. Some of them are religious and others commemorate the beginning of a new year. One of the most popular holidays around the world is Christmas, which is celebrated each year on December 25th. This holiday commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago. But you don't have to be religious to enjoy this holiday. As a part of Christmas, children enjoy a visit from Santa Claus who leaves gifts and treats. The exchanging of gifts between loved ones is also a highlight of Christmas. Another wonderful winter holiday is Hanukkah. Jewish people celebrate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd century BC. Legend tells of Jews rising up against their Greek and Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. This holiday is celebrated for eight days in December, with each day being recognized by lighting a candle on a menorah. There's also a fun game that is played called dreidel, and people enjoy eating traditional Jewish foods like latkes and safkinyot. Kwanzaa is an African winter celebration that's observed during the last week of December. It's a fairly new holiday, having been established in 1965. This is a time for people of African descent to remember the history and traditions of their culture. Similar to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa is celebrated by lighting a candle each day, with each one representing an important African principle like unity, creativity, and faith. Ramadan is an Islamic holiday that celebrates a month of fasting. It can sometimes fall during the wintertime and sometimes falls during the summertime. This commemorates the first Quran revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received. During this month, Muslims fast from sunup to sundown, only eating and drinking before dawn and after sunset. This is a time of increased prayer and spiritual reading. Chinese New Year recognizes the beginning of the Chinese calendar. This holiday falls in the later part of January to the early part of February. This is time for parades, ceremonies, and feasting with friends and family. The most important part of the Chinese New Year is the Lantern Festival. During the evening of the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying lanterns and solve fun riddles written on them. While China has their own unique New Year celebrations, so does Japan. Japanese New Year, also called Omisoka, is celebrated at the same time as New Year in the United States, except one day earlier, December 31st. Omisoka is seen as a clean slate. People clean their homes from top to bottom and remove clutter, hoping to encourage new beginnings and possibilities. The tradition is called Azoji. Following Azoji, there are feasts with traditional Japanese foods and parties with friends and family. Whatever the winter celebration is, one of the most important fixtures are family and friends. These holidays are best celebrated with the ones you love the most. Maybe your family could adopt some new winter celebrations like these. Winter Celebrations Chinese New Year New Year's Day Kwanzaa Three Kings Day Hanukkah Christmas Winter Solstice Saint Lucia Day Winter Solstice The Winter Solstice happens on either December 20th, 21st, 22nd, or 23rd in the Northern Hemisphere, or the northern part of the Earth, where it is the shortest day of the year. This means that on that day, there is the least amount of sunlight. People all over the world have festivals and celebrations. Long ago, people celebrated by lighting bonfires and candles to try to get the sun back. Hanukkah Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah. For eight nights, Hanukkah is celebrated with prayer, the lighting of the menorah, and food. A Hanukkah menorah has nine candles, a candle for every night, plus a helper candle. Children play games, sing songs, and exchange gifts. Potato pancakes are traditionally associated with Hanukkah and are served with applesauce and sour cream. The dates of Hanukkah change because this holiday follows the moon cycle. But Hanukkah always happens in the winter. Christmas Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas in the United States brings together many customs from other countries and cultures. Around the world, family members help to decorate the tree and home with bright lights, wreaths, candles, poly, mistletoe, and ornaments. On Christmas Eve, many people go to church. Also on Christmas Eve, Santa comes from the North Pole in a sleigh to deliver gifts. In Hawaii, it is said he arrives by boat. In Australia, he arrives on water skis. And in Ghana, he comes out of the jungle. Families gather together on Christmas and usually enjoy a meal together. Kwanzaa Kwanzaa is celebrated December 26th through January 1st. It is a holiday to celebrate African heritage, during which participants gather with family and friends to exchange gifts and to light a series of black, red, and green candles. These candles symbolize the seven basic values of African American family life. Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day New Year's Eve is December 31st. People often gather together on New Year's Eve and wait for midnight to bring in the new year. New Year's Day is January 1st. Families gather together on New Year's Day. Fireworks are often set off at midnight on New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year. People set goals or plans for the next year and often think about what they enjoyed about the past year. In the southern part of the United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring luck for the new year, greens to bring wealth, and pork to symbolize moving forward. Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It falls on different dates each year, sometime between January 21st and February 20th. Visits to friends and family take place during this celebration. Every year is represented by an animal and legend has it that people born under that animal have certain personality traits. Chinese New Year's is often celebrated with parades and celebrations. Three Kings Day Three Kings Day is celebrated by Christians all over the world. At the end of the 12 days of Christmas comes a day called the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. On this day in Spain, many children get their Christmas presents. In Puerto Rico, before children go to sleep on January 5th, they leave a box with hay under their beds so the kings will leave good presents. In France, a delicious king's cake is baked. Bakers hide a coin, jewel, or little toy inside it. Saint Lucia Day Most people in Scandinavian countries honor Saint Lucia each year on December 13th. Saint Lucia Day festivities began in Sweden but have spread to Denmark and Finland. In these countries, the holiday is considered the beginning of the Christmas season. There are many different holidays and celebrations that happen all over the world. What holidays and celebrations are important to your family?