Christmas
"For many American people, Christmas is a time of gift exchange and happy fellowship," said John Hung, adviser for Campus Crusades for Christ. "Retailers and goods manufacturers look forward to boosts in their economic fortunes. But for Christians, these things are of secondary emphasis. Christmas is one of our cherished celebrations - commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God's greatest gift to humanity. We believe our salvation and eternal security are in Christ alone. Therefore, His birth is worthy of celebration."
Experts have debated the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
"The Dec. 25 date can be found in some very early writings, but was not consistently observed in many countries until much later," Hung said. "In America, familiar practices such as sending greeting cards and putting up decorated trees were adopted during the early- to mid-1800s. Interestingly, the date of U.S. Thanksgiving Day is due to 1941 federal legislation to promote a longer period of shopping before Christmas Day."
Rich Penaskovic, religion professor, said the first evidence for Christmas celebrated Dec. 25 came from Egypt around 200 C.E. (Common Era) according to Saint Clement of Alexandria in his book, Stromateis.
"It spread to other early Christian cities over time," Penaskovic said. "Christmas was known in Rome in 354 C.E., in Antioch in 356, in Constantinople in 380 and in Jerusalem in 385. Saint Francis of Assisi, who died around 1226, made the first Christmas crib."
Hanukkah
"During Hanukkah, a candle holder called the menorah is lit," said Wallis Smith-Owens, president of the Jewish Student Organization. "It holds nine candles, eight for the eight nights of Hanukkah and then one as the 'shamash' which lights all of the other candles. Candles are lit from right to left."
Smith-Owens said it is also a tradition to eat latkes, potato pancakes, made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, onions and flour, then fried in vegetable oil, which reminds them of the oil that burned for eight days.
"A popular game, known as dreidel, is played using a spinning top with four sides," Smith-Owens said. "Each of the four sides has a different Hebrew letter on it that is part of an acronym standing for 'A great miracle happened there.'"
Israel had been taken over by Syrian Greeks, who tried to force their religion and culture on the Jewish people.
The Greek ruler, King Antiochus IV, banned the practice of Judaism in the country and also destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Judah, who was nicknamed "Maccabee" (meaning "the hammer" in Hebrew), led an army to defeat the Greeks and restore the temple.
In order to be able to see after dark, the Maccabees (Judah's army) lit oil, but there was only enough oil found in the temple to last one night.
To everyone's surprise, the oil burned for a full eight days.
Hanukkah, meaning "dedication" in Hebrew, is celebrated in remembrance of the Maccabee's saving the temple in Jerusalem.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. It is celebrated for seven days: Dec. 26 - Jan. 1.
The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba, are a set of ideals created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, according to history.com. Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle.
The first principle is unity and exemplifies striving for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation and race.
The second principle is self-determination, Kujichagulia. This principle encourages the community to define itself, name itself, create for itself and speak for itself.
The third principle is collective work and responsibility Ujima, which strives to build the community and make the brothers' and sisters' problems their problems and to solve them together.
The fourth principle is cooperative economics, Ujamaa, which helps to build and maintain stores, shops and other businesses.
The fifth principle is purpose Nia, which strives to make a collective vocation to help the building and developing of the community in order to restore the people to their traditional greatness.
The sixth principle is creativity Kuumba, which means they always do as much as they can, in the way they can, in order to leave the community more beautiful and beneficial than they inherited it.
The seventh principle is faith Imani, which encourages people to believe in their people, their parents, their teachers, their leaders and the righteousness and victory of their struggle.
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