(WJBC file photo)
By Camille Taylor
Do you remember the Seinfeld T.V. show when they celebrated “Festivus?” The main characters celebrated around an aluminum pole and had the traditional “airing of grievances” and “feats of strength.” The expression, “Festivus with the rest of us!” became very popular.
I started thinking about how many different ways people all over the world celebrate holidays, particularly in late November through December. So of course, I “Googled” it, and here’s what I found.
Of course most of this listening audience is familiar with the Christian celebration of Christmas which commemorates the birth of Jesus. Some who prefer a total secular celebration recognize the Winter Solstice which is the day when nighttime is longest and daytime is shortest. Buddhists celebrate Bohdi Day or Rohatsu around December 8th. It recalls when Buddha sat beneath a Bohdi tree, a type of fig tree, and was believed to achieve enlightenment thus escaping repeated incarnation.
Jewish people celebrate Hanukah which is the Feast of Dedication and Festival of Lights. It recalls a time when a war was being fought for religious freedom. There was only enough oil in the candles for one day in a Jerusalem temple. However, the candles burned for eight days.
Muslim holy days are fixed to the lunar calendar. The Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice occurs during the 12th lunar month of the Islamic year, and it recalls when Abraham intended to follow God’s instructions to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Wiccans and some Neopagans celebrate Yule at Winter Solstice time.
Yule was a pagan religious festival observed by historical Germanic peoples that was later absorbed into and equated with Christmas.
From this small sample, you can see that no matter where in the world you live or whether you practice religion or not, people are celebrating and recalling some type of observance during this time of year. My proposal is that instead of debating over secular versus religious observances, we recognize that our world is a huge tent. We have plenty of room under that tent for people to observe and celebrate their individual customs without it being a threat or a problem to anyone else. So, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Bohdi Day, or whatever, but most importantly, enjoy the time you have with the people you love the most.
Camille Taylor, a retired Counselor from Normal Community High School, has been an educator in this community for 34 years. She is active in the community currently serving as a church elder and board member for both the Baby Fold and the YWCA. She has been recognized by the YWCA as a Woman of Distinction for education, a Martin Luther King Jr. award winner for the City of Bloomington, a Distinguished Alumni by the College of Education at Illinois State University, a Human and Civil Rights award winner for the Illinois Education Association, and the H.Councill Trenholm Award recipient from the National Education Association for her work with diversity. She lives in Bloomington with her husband, Arthur, and is a mother and grandmother.
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