by Sarah Denny
Fayetteville, Ark.(UATV) — Celebrations such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa and Ōmisoka are some of the hundreds of holidays that show how diverse religion and culture are in the world.
Hanukkah began on Sunday, November 28th and runs through Monday, December 6th. This Jewish holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights. More than 14 million Jewish people celebrate the holiday all over the world to commemorate the recovery of Jerusalem. The origin of the holiday dates back to the 2nd century BCE when the second temple in Jerusalem was rededicated and Jewish people were able to practice their religion again.
Toby Klein, a Jewish student at the University of Arkansas, said she lights her family menorah to celebrate Hanukkah with her loved ones.
“We place the candles from newest to oldest, and then we light oldest to newest. It’s considered to be a sign of respect, we acknowledge both endings and beginnings, both new and old carry significance within our lives” she said.
On December 25th, Christmas is celebrated by 2 billion people from more than 160 countries. In the Christian faith, the holiday represents the birth of Jesus Christ. Families from all over the world spend time with family, exchange gifts, and attend Christmas church services.
Mikayla Jones, a Christian student at the U of A, said Christmas is important to her faith.
“Christmas is so special because it’s the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus who later would die for all of us and be the bridge to a relationship to God. Christmas always reminds me to slow down and keep the right perspective in life,” she said.
Boxing Day is celebrated the day after Christmas on December 26th. Historically, the holiday was for giving presents to the poor, but today it is celebrated as a shopping holiday. In 2020, billions of dollars were spent on Boxing day. In the United Kingdom, 2.7 billion pounds, ($3.6 USD), were spent in one day.
Participants also watch sports such as soccer and cricket to celebrate Boxing Day. In Britain, watching soccer on Boxing Day is similar to Americans watching football on Thanksgiving. In 2020, NBC Sports had its most watched Boxing Day soccer match with 1.2 million viewers.
Kwanzaa begins the same day as Boxing Day on December 26th and ends on January 1st. It is a celebration of African culture and was established in 1966 by professor and author Dr. Mauluna Karenga. Each night, families light one of the seven red, green, and black candles to symbolize the seven principals of Kwanzaa. Those principles are unity, self determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
Õmisoka is a Japanese holiday similar to New Year’s Eve in the United States. On December 31st, people in Japan see Ōmisoka as an important day that determines good fortunes for the coming year. Over 125 million people in Japan celebrate the holiday by repaying debts, cleaning out their houses, and purifying themselves from evil spirits.
At midnight, Japanese families go to a Buddhist temple and listen to Joyanokane, the ringing of giant bells and gongs. Each bell is struck 108 times to signify getting rid of the 108 earthly human desires called bonnos. These bonnos are believed to cause suffering on earth. Japanese Buddhists believe that hearing the bells will relieve all bonnos from your life.
To end the month and year, New Year’s Eve on December 31st is celebrated all around the world for those that use the January to December calendar. Some countries such as India and Sri Lanka don’t celebrate the new year until April. In China, the population of 1.4 billion people celebrate their new year in February.