Chalica

Chalica begins on the first Monday in December and lasts seven days. Each day, a chalice is lit and the day is spent reflecting on the meaning of that day’s principle and doing a good deed that honors that principle. The Principles for Chalica are: 1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

1. 2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

2. 3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

3. 4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

4. 5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

5. 6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

6. 7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Hanukkah

The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt. During Hanukkah, on each of the eight nights, a candle is lit in a special menorah (candelabra) called a 'hanukkiyah'. There is a special ninth candle called the 'shammash' or servant candle which is used to light the other candles. The shammash is often in the center of the other candles and has a higher position. On the first night one candle is lit, on the second night, two are lit until all are lit on the eighth and final night of the festival. Traditionally they are lit from left to right. A special blessing, thanking God, is said before or after lighting the candles and a special Jewish hymn is often sung. The menorah is put in the front window of houses so people passing can see the lights and remember the story of Hanukkah.

December 6th

St. Nicholas Day

On December 6th, Saint Nicholas Day recognizes the third-century saint who became an inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus. St. Nicholas is known for selling all his possessions and giving his money to the poor. Nicholas later become part of the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus.

It is celebrated by by putting their shoes outside their bedroom doors or hanging an empty stocking by the fireplace on the evening of 5 December. St Nicholas then comes during the night.

December 12

The Festival of our Lady Guadalupe

This celebration commemorates the appearance of Mary to the Mexican peasant Juan Diego in 1531. The feast day is an important holiday in Mexico, where schools and businesses are closed for the celebration. It has also become an important day for Mexican Americans to celebrate their religious and cultural identity.

December 13

St. Lucia Day

Saint Lucy's Day, also called Lucia Day or the feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, who according to legend brought food and aid to people hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candlelit wreath on her head to light her way and leave her hands free to carry as much food as possible. In Norway, Sweden and Swedish-speaking regions of Finland, as songs are sung, girls dressed as Saint Lucy carry cookies and saffron buns in procession, which symbolizes bringing the Light of Christ into the world's darkness.

December 16- December 24

Los Posadas

Las Posadas is celebrated mainly in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and by Hispanics in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24. It has been celebrated for over 400 years.

During a Posada the posada hosts act as the inn keepers while their guests act as the pilgrims (los peregrinos). They walk around holding candles and singing, then the inn keeper hosts open the door and welcome the pilgrims inside for a party complete with cheerful socializing, authentic food, and fun for the entire family, including a special Christmas drink and a piñata filled with candy.

December 25

Christmas

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.

December 26

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture which is held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in gift-giving and a feast of faith, called Karamu Ya Imani. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.

• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.

• Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

December 26

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas Day, thus being the second day of Christmastide.^[1] It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in a number of countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. the most commonly accepted explanation for the Boxing Day meaning relates to the phrase "Christmas box." The idea of a Christmas box dates back to the olden days of the British aristocracy, as they were said to give their servants Dec. 26 off and give them some sort of gift, otherwise known as a Christmas box. This box could also include money and even food from the previous day's Christmas dinner. It is celebrated today by giving to the less fortunate.

December 31

Hogmanay

Hogmanay is what we Scots call New Year's Eve - 31 December - the big night that marks the arrival of the new year. Its origins reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Vikings with wild parties in late December. It is celebrated with meals, music, and dancing, and many towns have special customs or sporting events. Hogmanay gatherings are often ended with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” which is a poem by Robert Burns that is set to folk music. It celebration normally lasts throughout the day of the 1st, but can last until the 2nd!

December 31

Omisoka

Ōmisoka —or ōtsugomori —is a Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, important activities for the concluding year and day were completed in order to start the new year fresh.^[2] Some of these include house cleaning, repaying debts, purification (such as driving out evil spirits and bad luck), and bathing so the final hours of the year could be spent relaxing. About an hour before the New Year, people often gather together for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi soba or toshikoshi udon together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with "crossing over from one year to the next", which is the meaning of toshi-koshi. While the noodles are often eaten plain, or with chopped scallions, in some localities people top them with tempura. Traditionally, families make osechi on the last few days of the year. The food is then consumed during the first several days of the new year in order "[welcome] the 'deity of the year' to each household" and "[wish] for happiness throughout the year".

At midnight, many visit a shrine or temple for Hatsumōde, or the first shrine/temple visit of the year.

December 31

New Year's Eve

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, is on 31 December. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at evening parties, where many people dance, eat, drink, and watch or light fireworks.