October 26, 2006
By Jennifer Shields
Writer and Director, Multicultural Holiday Celebration
The holiday season has begun — the Christmas commercials got a head start before anyone had even finished sorting their Halloween haul! The countdown to those special moments with family, friends, and community underway, but just what holiday are you counting down to?
During this season, running to and from shopping malls and social gatherings, we are typically inundated with a dazzling array of images, most often related to Christmas. At this time of year, however, many of the major religions and cultures of the world celebrate a variety of holiday traditions.
On Friday, December 1, beginning at 8 p.m., the Temple University Ambler Program Board will host its second annual holiday show, entitled Joy to the World: Community of Cultures, to commemorate many of the major holidays taking place. The event will be held in the Learning Center Auditorium.
In the spirit of giving that this season engenders, the celebration will be a charitable event; voluntary donations will be accepted at the door. Proceeds will benefit Owlreach, a student organization on campus that will use the profits to buy holiday gifts for less fortunate children in support of the Salvation Army.
Taking the form of a play comprised of a series of small vignettes, the event will take place in a classroom setting where an American Cultures professor, "Mr. Duffy," encourages his students to converse about their personal traditions for the upcoming winter season. Through their memories of song, dance, special readings, and family gatherings, the class is immersed in the many holiday traditions celebrated during this time of year.
“We wanted to make this event a true celebration of the diversity of this campus,” said Ambler campus junior Jennifer Shields, who is writing the script and directing the program. “After the great success of last year's Multicultural Holiday Show, many students and faculty members showed great interest in performing in another show. I am very excited about the willingness of the campus community to share their cultures, as well as their talents, with the school."
In a high spirited, good-natured way, the celebration seeks to educate people about the many cultures that take this time of year to celebrate traditions, some of which date back centuries.
“I would love to incorporate as many holidays and cultures as possible. Whether it's a traditional Christmas song, a dance to celebrate the Hindu Festival Diwali, or lighting the menorah for Hannukah, I am looking forward to expressing those traditions through the show," Shields said. "I am hoping to make the entire cast a part of the script-writing. What information would you share about Kwanzaa, La Navidad, Eid el-Fitr, or Bodhi Day? It will be up to them to decide what these holidays mean to them, and the ways they should be presented on stage.”
While some of these holidays may sound familiar, many people may not know their origins. And for globally celebrated holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, many countries have their own unique traditions.
Bodhi Day (Enlightenment Day): Bodhi Day honors the enlightenment of Siddhartha Gautama — the Buddha. Buddhists observe the importance of this event by celebrating Bodhi Day usually on the eighth of December. The day is observed in many ways, including prayer, meditation and teachings.
Christmas: Both Roman Catholics and followers of the Protestant faiths celebrate the birth of the Christian Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, according to the date agreed upon by the Western Church in the fifth century. In contrast, Orthodox Catholics of the Eastern Rite celebrate Christmas according to earlier practices, which follow the Julian calendar and place the holiday on January 6. The addition of the gift-bearing Santa Claus is primarily connected with the American and British traditions.
Diwali: One of the most important festivals of the year for Hindus, it combines a number of celebrations to honor different gods and goddesses and events in their lives as described by the Hindu Tradition. Lamps are lit for the entire five days of Diwali beside roads, streams, edges of roofs, and on window sills to enable Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity, to find her way to every home.
Dia de los Reyes (Three Kings Day): Also known as the Epiphany, Three Kings Day (Día de los Reyes) is a Christian celebration that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings - Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar - who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child. This religious holiday is widely celebrated in the Hispanic community, particularly in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and especially by Mexican-Americans. Traditionally in Mexico, Three Kings Day was the gift-giving time, rather than Christmas day. In some regions of Mexico, it was customary for children to leave their shoes out on the night of Jan. 5, often filling them with hay for the camels, in hopes that the Three Kings would be generous. In Puerto Rico on the Eve of the Epiphany children traditionally collect hay, straw, or grass and place it in boxes or containers under their beds for the same purpose.
Hanukkah: Often referred to as the Festival of Lights, the holiday commemorates the victory of the Jewish people, led by the Maccabee family, over the Syrian Greeks in 165 B.C. According to legend, when the Jews returned to cleanse their temple, they discovered only enough oil to keep the holy lamp burning for one day. The oil, however, miraculously lasted eight days, the time needed to secure a new supply. Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting a candle on the Menorah on each of the eight days of the celebration.
 Kwanzaa: Kwanzaa was started in the United States in 1966 by California State University Black Studies Professor Dr. Maulana Karenga. It means the first fruits of the harvest and is patterned after an East African Harvest Festival. Kwanzaa is a unique American holiday that pays tribute to the rich cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry. Symbols of Kwanzaa are set upon a low table laden with tropical fruits and vegetables. The observance includes story telling about the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective work and responsibility), Ujamma (Cooperative economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
La Navidad: On December 24, families gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Depending on the area of South America the family is located in, presents are opened on December 24 or January 6 — when the Three Kings brought gifts to Jesus.
New Year's Eve: Celebrated on December 31, the final day of the calendar year and the day before New Year's Day. In the western world, the celebration involves partying with friends and family (or massive throngs in Time’s Square) until the moment of the transition of the year at midnight.
Oshugatsu: The Japanese New Year is a traditional festival which has been celebrated for centuries and has its own unique customs, such as sending New Years postcards, and playing holiday games. In ancient times, the Japanese New Year was based on the same Chinese calendar as the Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese New Year. Since 1873, Japan has followed the same months as the Gregorian calendar, so January 1 is the official New Year's Day for Japan. It is one of the most important festivals of the entire year.
Ramadan and Eid el-Fitr: Eid el-Fitr, or “Feast of Breaking the Fast,” is held at the completion of Ramadan, the month of fasting for the Islamic faith. Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar, is a time when Muslims throughout the world fast daily and concentrate on their faith through worship and contemplation. Ramadan is of particular importance to Muslims since it is believed to be the month in which the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad. At the end of Ramadan, the festive three-day holiday of Eid el-Fitr is celebrated by attending special congregational prayers in the morning and visiting the homes of friends and family for large meals. In some cities, fairs are also held to celebrate the holiday.
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