Winter Holidays

1. Winter Holidays

2. Bodhi Day(Buddhism) • December 8th,2008 • Holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha experienced enlightenment • Siddhartha decided to sit under a Pipul tree and simply meditate until found the root of suffering,how to liberate one's self from it • Different traditions say different things: • Made a great vow to nirvana and Earth to find the root of suffering, died trying • As meditating he was harassed and tempted by the Hindu god Mara, Lord of Illusion • Entered deeper and deeper states of meditation, confronting the nature of the self. • All agree, Siddhartha finally found the answers he sought, experiencing Nirvana, becoming Enlightened one

3. Christmas(Christian) • December 25th, 2008 • Observes the birth of the Christian messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, according to the Christian Bible's New Testament • Actual date of birth is not known, most scholars agree that December 25th was chosen in the 4th century to incorporate the existing pagan winter solstice • Christmas has become a highly commercial and secular celebration for many non-religious people in North America • Time to gather with friends and family, feast, give gifts, and celebrate the spirit of hope and the innate goodness of all people

4. Hanukkah(Jewish) • December 21st to December 29th, 2008 • Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) means dedication. • Eight-day Jewish celebration to remember the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 B.C • Maccabee reclaimed the temple for the Jewish God and they were to have an eight day celebration • The temple lamps, according to tradition, only had a day's worth of oil the miracle is small amount of oil burned for eight days • A key symbol is a candle-holder called a menorah, which holds nine candles - eight to symbolize the eight nights of burning oil, and one to light the others

5. Winter Solstice(Pagan) • December 21st, 2008 • Occurs at the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer • During either the shortest day or the longest night of the year, dependent on hemisphere you are located in • The significance is the reversal of the gradually lengthening nights and shortening days • 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 word solstice derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still)

6. Kwanzaa(Pan-African) • December 26th to January 1st, 2008 • Kwanzaa is Swahili for first fruits, and it's origins comes from ancient African harvest celebrations • Modern Kwanzaa holiday was started around 1966 to help African communities worldwide celebrate family and culture • The lighting of candles is a ritual- one of seven candles, called mishumaa, is lit each day to honor the Seven Principles of: • Unity, Self-determination, Collective work and responsibility, Cooperative economics, Purpose, Creativity, Faith • Gifts may be given one per day, or they may all be given on the last day of Kwanzaa, as an affirmation of self worth

7. Martin Luther King Day(United States) • January 19th, 2009 • Marks the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15 • One of only four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person • King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law • The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968 • First observed in 1986, officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2006

8. New Years Day(Around the globe) • January 1st, 2009 • First day of the year, celebrated as such around the world following the Georgian calendar, except Israel, and once by the Romans • Traditionally a religious feast, but since the 1900s has become an occasion for celebration the night of December 31, called New Year's Eve. • New Year's resolutions, most popular ones in the western world include to stop tobacco smoking or drinking alcohol, to lose weight or get physically fit • 7th-century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year

9. Festivus(Seinfeldism) • December 23rd, 2008 • Annual holiday invented by writer Dan O'Keefe • Introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a scriptwriter for the TV show Seinfeld • Includes the "Airing of Grievances", in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year • After the meal, "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, the holiday only ending if the head of the household is actually pinned • Also a book by Daniel O'Keefe, The Real Festivus, which provides a first-person account of an early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O'Keefe family

10. Kite Festival(Jaipur, India) • January 24th, 2009 • Celebrated in India as Makar Sankranti- heralding the transition of the sun into the Northern hemisphere, for three days • Big kite day in most parts of India when children from 6 to 60 can be seen with their heads turned to the sky • Kites are beautifully crafted by hand and designed with different goals in mind • Goal is to cut adversaries’ kites are cut down, and everyone’s an adversary with all kites being fair game • Three sections: Fighter Kite Competition, Display Flying, Prize Distribution and Finals on lawn of palace

11. Chinese New Year(China) • January 26th, 2009 • Most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China • Begins on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the 15th, Lantern Festival • Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours • Although the Chinese calendar traditionally did not use continuously numbered years, its years are now often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China • Marked by many parties and traditional foods special to the holiday