Holidays

  December Holidays

To All: Have a Delightful and Safe Holiday!

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December 22, 2019 to December 30, 2019

Begins on the eve of the 22^th in the Jewish calendar -month of Kislev – Kindling of the menorah is the focal point of the Chanukah holiday.

The eight-day festival of light

Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, “festival of lights,” celebrated by:

·        Lighting the menorah lighting

·        Special prayers

·        Fried foods.

In Hebrew Chanukah means “dedication,” it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple, with a variation of the spelling – Hanukkah.

Chanukah commemorates

Because of these miracles, it was instituted, that the festival of Chanukah has special blessings and songs.

Chanukah delicacies/Foods

The miracle of Chanukah involved oil. Therefore, it is customary to eat foods fried in oil.

·        Latkes, potato pancake an Eastern-European classic

• Sufganya – jelly-filled doughnut
• Chocolate Gelt    

A tradition to give gifts to the children, in the form of coins, for:

·        Positive behavior

·        Teaches giving Tzedakah - charity

·        Torah studies

Dreidel game 

The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with Hebrew letters, nun, gimmel, hei and shun, an acronym for nes gadol hayah sham, “a great miracle happened there”).

Fun for the whole family the game is played for coins, nuts, or other play items.

information courtesy: Chanukah

Chanukah

Courtesy: Words and Games Activity  Holiday Sheets

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Saint Nicholas Day

December 6th became a major holiday in Italy, after  WWII/ World War II, and an even bigger holiday in Europe, among the Dutch and Italians. One Chaplin dressed up as St. Nickolas (San Nicolo) asking the warriors to give items to him to give to kids.

It is celebrated by kids, placing shoes in the foyer before bedtime, hoping to receive many treats.

On December 6^th, the children are given treats as:

·        Cookies

·        Fruit

·        Toys

 All placed in stockings, socks, shoes, or bags.

 Delicacies/Food   

·        Pastries Sweet buns

·        Bread 

·        Italian Garlic Bread (Bruschetta)

·        Salad

·        Fruit

·        Fish

·        Brozel - Egg garlic parsley gravy

·        Meat balls

Courtesy Saint Nicholas Day

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Christmas

Filled with many traditions celebrated on the 25th of December, no matter what day the 25th falls on.

Many celebrate the eve of Christmas by:

·        Sharing and opening gifts

·        Attends special services

·        Prayers for the departed

·        Charity and visiting hospitals   

The holiday’s, main central core is the ‘Birth of Christ.’

Christmas is the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ, held annual on December 25^th  

A few notable events are celebrated                            

·        Christmas Eve

·        12 days of Christmas

·        Gift giving

·        Helping others more and Charity giving

·        Secret Santa

·        Songs and musical programs throughout

·        The annual holiday parade in California

·        Foods are vast in variety according to traditions and customs at family tables.

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What is Kwanzaa? A Family, Community and Culture Celebration-Kwanzaa

Is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture –

Celebrated from 26 December  2019, thru 1^st  January 2020.

Its meaning                                  

Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

The first harvest is a celebration of the origin and the name is derived from Africa.

The Origins of Kwanzaa the First-Fruits Celebration

1. a time of ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them;
2. a time of special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation;
3. a time for commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors;
4. a time of recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice; and
5. a time for celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social.

Data courtesy of:

http://official kwanzaa website

philasun.com

Courtesy of: Words and Games Activity Holiday Sheets