There are many holidays in December, but only a small few are usually recognized. Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Can you think of many other holidays? Well, believe it or not, there are quite a few more.

To start off the month, the people of Belgium celebrate St. Nicholas Eve on December 5^th. St Nicholas Eve is the day before St Nicholas Day, which is a celebration of gift giving and is in honor of the good man with a big white beard himself. St Nicholas was said to be a saint long ago who delivered toys and sweets to the children in his hometown. The next day, St Nicholas Day, there will be feasts and celebrations throughout Belgium, and all of the children will wake up to gifts.

On December 12^th, , Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe (or Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe) is celebrated in Mexico. The belief is that a man named Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary twice in Mexico City, where she asked him to build a temple. Juan Diego asked the bishop, but the bishop needed a miracle as proof that he should build a temple. Juan returned to the hill that the Virgin Mary had chosen, and a cluster of cacti had turned into roses. The bishop saw this as a miracle great enough to build a temple on, and now on the 12^th all of Mexico celebrates by holding small religious festivals!

December 21^st is not necessarily a holiday, but the Winter Solstice appears on the calendars on that day! Even though the weather may have already turned cold, blustery and windy, the official first day of the winter season is on the 21^st. The solstices are aligned with the lunar calendar and the moon’s phases, and represent the start of each season.

One that we all know is Christmas. The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ falls on the 25^th of December. It’s a time for friends and family to spend time together. The religious celebration of Christmas includes lighting a candle each Sunday for Advent, and reading from the Bible. The non-religious version of Christmas focuses more on family, lights, food and gifts. On Christmas morning, many people will wake up to check if Santa has come and left gifts under the tree and in stockings!

Hanukkah takes place over eight nights. The Bible states that once, a temple needed oil to keep their lamps lit for worship. A terrible storm hit, and there was only enough oil for one night, but somehow the menorah burned for all 8 nights with one night’s worth of fuel. The temple saw this as a miracle, and celebrate it by giving gifts each night and lighting one candle on a menorah each night to symbolize the Holy menorah.

Kwanzaa takes place over seven days, each day to honor a different principle. The seven days represent umoja (unity), kujichaguila (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa(cooperative economics), nia(a sense of purpose), kuumba(creativity), and imani(faith). Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, it gets its name from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits of the harvest”.  Families celebrate with feasts and decorations including candles and the colors red, black and green.

As you can tell, there are many unique and special holidays, each with their own meanings to the people who celebrate them. The holidays and celebrations are fun to partake in or learn about, and I can’t wait to discover even more about all of these special festivities.