December is a month of holiday celebrations crossing different cultures and nationalities. Here’s a quick snapshot of what people celebrate, and why:
• Hannukah. An eight-day Jewish holiday beginning this year at sundown the day before Dec. 2, 2010, Hannukah celebrates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Jewish victory over the Maccabees in 165 B.C. Each night, families light one candle on the menorah, observing the traditional story of how the one-day supply of oil for the temple’s eternal flame burned for eight days.
• Al Hijra. The Islamic new year observed in 2010 on Dec. 7 through Jan. 4, 2011, this marks the emigration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.
• Christmas. This Christian holiday, observed on Dec.25, celebrates the birth of Jesus between the years 7 and 2 B.C. The date may have been chosen to correspond with the winter solstice, or to coincide with a Roman holiday honoring the sun during the same period. Christmas became a federal holiday in the United States in 1870.
• Kwanzaa. A seven-day celebration of African heritage and culture, Kwanzaa is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan.1. Activist Ron Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 to emphasize African-Americans’ shared history and experience. The name Kwanzaa is derived from “matunda ya kwanza,” a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits.”
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