Happy Holidays!

Many of us use the term “Happy Holidays” to be all encompassing and inclusive to the many ways in which people choose to celebrate in the month of December.  For many of us in the United States, once we get to December, we immediately think of the three major holidays:

Hanukkah, which is the holiday for Judaism

Christmas, which is the holiday for the Christians. 

And this celebration is celebrated very differently based on your culture. For some, it is Christmas Eve, which is most important while in other cultures, it is Christmas Day, which is most important.

Kwaanza, which is the holiday for African Americans in the US.

However, there are many more holidays, which are celebrated in December, here are just a few.

1. December 6^th is St Nicholas Day, the saint who is a role model for gift giving and gave us Santa Claus.
2. December 8^th is Bodhi Day celebrated by Buddhists. This holiday celebrates the historical Buddha’s decision and vow to sit under the Bodhi tree until he reached spiritual enlightenment. It’s celebrated through meditation and is embraced similar to how Christians celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus Christ
3. December 16^th is Posadas Navidenas – This is a primarily Hispanic Christian holiday that commends Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus
4. December 21^st is the Solstice and celebrated by Wiccans/Pagans. Solstice is the point in the year “when the earth is most inclined away from the sun. It is the most southern or northern point depending on the hemisphere. Pagans and Wicca believers will celebrate that event through Yule, in which believers also honor “the winter-born king, symbolized by the rebirth of the sun.  It is believed that this is how Christmas came to be celebrated in December as Constantinople took Pagan holidays and aligned them with the new Christian faith.
5. Boxing Day is on December 26^th and is celebrated throughout the countries of the British Commonwealth and nations formerly colonized by Britain.

As we look at all of these holidays and celebrations in December, we realize that while each of us may be celebrating differently with slightly different beliefs, we are all trying to celebrate the joy of life with those whom we love and hold dear.  But that is not always possible for everyone.

As children we look forward to the holidays and see it as a time of wonder and happiness filled with family, fun and toys.  As we get older, we feel the pressure of getting the right gifts, the holiday parties and sometimes the strain that being with family during this time can create. And for some who have no family or who struggle with seasonal depression, this is simply a time of great sadness.

So this year as you plan to celebrate your holidays, let us remember our sister value of “empathy” and take time to think of others for whom the holidays are not always filled with joy for physical, emotional, financial or psychological challenges which makes the holidays stressful or not as joy filled as others might assume or anticipate. 

With that said, may the joy and peace of the Holiday Season be with you and yours.

Dr. Suzanne Morrison-Williams is the owner of Dr. Sue Speaks LLC and the Amazon Best Selling Author of Bossladyship: Color me a Bosslady. She is a published author on many topics in the field of education and speaks nationally on a variety of topics impacting education, leadership and the role of women in management and leadership.