December – A Time to Spiritually Unite

December is a month of religious celebrations. It has three holy holidays: Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanza. Hannukah celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem which had been taken over by the Syrian-Greek empire and miraculously reclaimed by a small band of poorly armed Jews.[1] Hanukkah is an eight-day celebration that involves enjoying fried foods, engaging in prayer, sharing gifts, and lighting eight candles. The eight candles are reminders of the one-day oil supply that lasted for eight days during the reunification of the temple with the Jewish people. Foods are also prepared in oil to memorialize the miracles of Hannukah. It is a time of gratitude and sharing.

Founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karuna, Kwanza (December 26-January 1) celebrates African-American heritage in African-American culture.[2] The holiday promotes bringing together to celebrate their own holiday and culture instead of a traditional white Christian culture. Seven candles are lit to foster unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith, and on the sixth day, there’s a communal feast called Karamu.[3]

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, on the 25^th of December. Jesus was sent by God to teach us to love – God, one another, and ourselves, and to come together as a unified people. Though it is a religious holiday, it is celebrated with gifts in remembrance of the gifts that the three wise men brought to Jesus’ birth. Santa Claus, based on the 3rd-century patron saint of children named Christopher Kringle, was introduced into the holiday as the magical gift-giver who supplies presents to deserving children every Christmas. Since then, Christmas gift-giving intensified as the result of Clement Clark Moore’s poem, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas in 1822, and in 1881, Thomas Nast drew on that poem to create a cartoon that depicted a jolly round Santa with a white beard, donned in a red suit, carrying a bag of toys.[4] Since then, Christmas has evolved to be the biggest commercialized event of the year.

While all three December holidays have important historical roots, they also are separate and apart without unification. Instead of bringing us into awareness about the different historical and cultural elements of these momentous occasions, we are often unaware of the intricacies of these holidays. If December were a month to celebrate loving one another instead of sectarian and commercialized aims, we’d likely experience more unity and joy. All of the history and stories associated with these events could be shared and could make the month of December a month to remind us to learn about the world’s different peoples and holidays.

But this blog isn’t an attempt to change the world. My goal is to simply remind the readers that regardless of specific celebrations, December can be a month to remember to love. Most of all, start with loving yourself. Regardless of what we celebrate, December can be a time to remember that the consciousness of these special occasions can be shared amongst everyone we encounter – far and near. Then, our lives will attract other loving beings – of all kinds – and we will be able to build a world of history, culture, and spirituality that far exceeds any individualized sect and one that serves all.

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