The 5th Day of Patmas

On the 5th Day of Patmas, I give to you…5 Holiday Celebrations other than Christmas!

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. However, it is based on a Christian Holiday, and as such, is not celebrated by everyone. There are many other holidays that occur during this time, some wonderful, some ridiculous. Here’s a look at 5 of the main ones, as a way to broaden our understanding of the season!

Note: These will be very, very top level views of the holidays. Otherwise, this post would drag on forever.

Hanukkah - Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden.

The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle. Accordingly, lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street.

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that are performed every day throughout the 8-day holiday, some are family-based and others communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.

Diwali - Diwali, popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Diwali falls on the one new moon night (Amavasya) between mid-October and mid-December. This year it was on October 26th, 2011. Diwali is celebrated for five days according to the lunisolar Hindu Calendar. It begins in late Ashvin (between September and October) and ends in early Kartika (between November and December).

The name "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali"), which translates into "row of lamps". Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps, called diyas, filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. These lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome. Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits. During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.

The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year. The second day of the festival, Naraka Chaturdasi, marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the third day of Diwali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the Bali, and banished him to Patala. It is on the fourth day of Diwali, Kartika Shudda Padyami, that Bali went to patala and took the reins of his new kingdom in there. The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai Dooj), and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

I actually had my first brush with Diwali this year. My new house is in a heavily Indian neighborhood, and I noticed loads of Christmas Lights going up in mid-October. I found this to be rather odd, so I looked it up. Turns out these families were celebrating Diwali! And on the night of the 26th, the kids in the neighborhood were heard shooting off fireworks in the street in celebration. I never even knew of Diwali before I moved to my current location. Guess you learn something new every year!

Kwanzaa - Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States honoring universal African-American heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It features activities such as lighting a candle holder with seven candles and culminates in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–1967.

Yes, Kwanzaa is a made up holiday with no real historical roots. But, as its showing up on calendars now, I’ll discuss is briefly.

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said that it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas, that Jesus was psychotic, and that Christianity was a white religion that black people should shun. However, as Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so that practicing Christians would not be alienated, then stating, "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday." So, yeah, he started it as an opposition to that crazy Jesus guy, and then said, wait, no, nevermind. Solid holiday, bro.

At least the crazy is out of the holiday now, though. At first, observers of Kwanzaa avoided the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values, and practice with other holidays, as doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self-determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values. Today, many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's. Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African American roots, share space in Kwanzaa-celebrating households. To them, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas. So I can get behind that…I mean, I still think it’s a made up holiday, but if people appreciate it, who am I to differ. I “celebrate” a made up holiday from a TV show, so whatever.

Festivus - Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as a way to celebrate the holiday season without participating in its pressures and commercialism. It was created by writer Dan O'Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show Seinfeld, as part of a comical storyline on the show. The holiday's celebration, as shown on Seinfeld, includes an unadorned aluminum "Festivus pole", practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles". Celebrants of the holiday sometimes refer to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us", a saying taken from the O'Keefe family traditions and popularized in the Seinfeld episode to describe Festivus' non-commercial aspect.

This is my favorite episode of Seinfeld ever. I love the idea of Festivus. The anti-commercialism is a great message. The airing of grievances is amazing. I can dominate the feats of strength. And if you haven’t seen a Festivus Miracle yet, well, you just aren’t looking! Look forward to the 11th Day of Patmas, which falls on Festivus. I may just have some grievances to air with you people!

Winter Solstice – The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's polar hemisphere is farthest away from the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. More evidently from high latitudes, a hemisphere's winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the sun's daily maximum elevation in the sky is the lowest. Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.

The act of celebrating the Winter Solstice has many roots in ancient agrarian societies. The midwinter festival was the last feast celebration, before deep winter began. Most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter, so it was almost the only time of year when a supply of fresh meat was available. The majority of wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking at this time. Also, since the event is seen as the reversal of the Sun's ebbing presence in the sky, concepts of the birth or rebirth of sun gods have been common.

Unfortunately, these days the Solstice is used as an alternative holiday to Christmas as sort of a protest vote towards Christmas as a religious holiday. Atheists and liberals use Solstice as a way to make some sort of statement about the separation of Church and State (even though Christmas is a mostly secular holiday controlled by corporations now). These are the same people who sue cities for having a manger on their lawns, or demand Christmas Trees be called Holiday Trees. It’s sickening, really. However, its important not to forget that for many, many centuries, the Solstice was an important Winter feast for many, many people, and is probably the jumping off point for Christmas being as big of a holiday as it’s become.