A look at winter holidays Brea Barthel RPI’s Advising & Learning Assistance Center Revised 12/4/2013

Q: How many different winter holidays are there? A: Lots! Winter solstice Christmas (and “Little Christmas”) Hanukah (or “Chanukah”) Kwanzaa New Year’s Day

Happy solstice! Usually solstice is on December 21 st or 22nd The shortest day of the year (in Northern hemisphere; longest in Southern hemisphere) Celebrates the coming of the light with “evergreen” trees and “yule logs” (big fires) Mistletoe tradition: you can kiss anyone standing under this plant Celebrates a natural phenomenon: predates Christianity

“Merry Christmas” Usually celebrated on December 25 Celebrated on January 6 (“Little Christmas” or “Three Kings Day”) in some religions Colors: bright red and bright green Three aspects Religious holiday: Christ’s birthday Domestic holiday: family get-together Commercial holiday: gifts & decorations

Religious (Christian) holiday Birthday of Jesus Christ, “the Son of God,” by Mary, the mother of Jesus Tradition has Christ born in a “manger” (a box for feeding animals) A bright star overhead led “The Three Wise Men” (or “Three Magi”) from Africa to the manger Angels sang to the shepherds “Nativity” scene (or “creche”) usually shows a manger, Mary, Joseph (her husband) & infant, plus angels, camels, shepherds, more Drawing:

Christian celebrations & songs Celebrating “Advent” the 4 weeks before Going to “midnight Mass” Christmas Eve (12/24) Singing religious “Christmas carols” “Silent Night” “Joy to the World” “Oh come, all ye faithful” “The first Noel” …and many more

Christmas as a domestic holiday: family & winter celebration Santa Claus (loosely based on St. Nicholas) flies to every house in his sled pulled by reindeer “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” (1950s songs) “Christmas trees,” house lights & decorations “Christmas cards” or holiday cards Candy canes & snowflakes Christmas cookies! Famous poem “A Visit from St. Nick” was first published in a Troy NY newspaper.

“A Visit from St. Nick” (12/23/1823) 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there… As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound: He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes & soot…

Christmas as a commercial holiday Total 2012 US holiday retail sales? $579.5 Billion Biggest shopping day: “Black Friday” Black Friday spending in 2013: $57.4 Billion spending-drop-pressures-u-s-stores.html “Cyber Monday”: $1.7 Billion in idUSBRE9B Biggest shopping week: the last week before Christmas (33% of Christmas sales) Estimated average gift sales, 2011: $740 ( intentions-perk-november.aspx

Happy Hanukah! “Judaism” predates Christianity; shared history in “Old Testament” (Bible; Christians added “New Testament”) Judaism represented by 6-pointed “Star of David” Hanukah, the “festival of lights,” occurs in December or late November (lunar calendar). Celebrates that a small bit of lamp oil lasted 8 days, helping Jews fend off a military attack Minor holiday in Jewish tradition, but heavily promoted now as an alternative to Christmas Colors: blue and white

Hanukah symbols “Menorah,” a 9-candle holder A main candle is lit each night, then one more for each night of the celebration (so 1 more on 1 st night, 2 more on 2 nd night...) “Dreidl,” a special spinning top that children use in games Sacks of “gelt” (chocolate “coins” wrapped in gold foil) Blue & white decorations

Happy Kwanzaa! A new holiday invented in 1966 to strengthen African-American communities Now celebrated by millions worldwide Runs from 12/26 to 1/1 (seven days) Each day celebrates a different value Colors: red, green, and black Drawing & more info:

Seven “guiding principles” based on Swahili words Umoja (Unity) Kujichagulia (Self-determination) Ujima (Collective responsibility) Ujamaa (Cooperative economics) Nia (Purpose; personal goals) Kuumba (Creativity) Imani (Faith in ourselves) Drawing & more info:

Happy New Year! January 1 st starts a new year Celebrated on New Year’s Eve (12/31) with parties, champagne, fireworks, noisemakers “First Night” arts celebrations in some cities “Dropping the ball” in NYC’s Times Square (estimated 1M on site) “Making resolutions” (setting goals) for the new year Colors: silver & gold (“precious metals” ) to show celebration

The best winter events for us… Troy’s “Victorian Stroll” this Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm Lots of activities, all over downtown (even bigger than Troy Night Out!) Semester break! Have a joyous break, and a great winter!