Most Popular December Global Holidays and Festivities

Introduction to December global holidays

The month of December is everyone’s favorite month of the year due to so many holidays. You can smell winter in the night before December begins, and it feels like the holidays are just around the corner. It’s all about the holidays, cookies, snow, and good times in December. Because it is the last month, there is a lot of hustle for the final days, and it appears like everyone is working together to close the year on a high note. December Global Holidays invariably bring pleasure, happiness, and a lot of good food. It is the finest month to spend time with friends and family for some, and it is the time for optimism, hope, and a lot of celebrations for others.

December Global Festivities:

• Christmas – December Global Festival

Christmas is a hallowed religious festival and a global cultural and economic phenomenon, and it is observed on December 25. It is celebrated on the memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe he is the Son of God. Today, Christians and non-Christians alike celebrate Christmas throughout the world. It’s a time for family and friends to gather to thank God for their many blessings. Christmas consists mainly of preparations and anticipation. It brings delight to anyone, especially children, because it is a time when they may give and receive gifts. The magic of Christmas is well and truly gone until next year.

• Nicholas Day

Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6 every year. St. Nicholas Day is an annual commemoration of the life of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of children and the inspiration for the modern-day figure of Santa Claus. The Feast of St. Nicholas is also known as St. Nicholas Day. Small presents are commonly given on St. Nicholas Day, frequently in shoes that youngsters set out the night before. This is an excellent opportunity to give the family some little, affordable Christmas gifts a few weeks early. Although little is known about St. Nicholas’ life, tales of his generosity and devotion to the poor inspired the modern character of Santa Claus (Old “Saint Nick”). One narrative about St. Nicholas leaving gold for three daughters whose father couldn’t afford a dowry inspired Santa Clause to leave gifts on Christmas Eve night.

• Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a holiday that commemorates religious liberty. It commemorates the Maccabees’ victory in a fight fought over the right to pray. Jews, on the other hand, do not commemorate the war. As a result, we commemorate the blessing bestowed upon the conquerors who reclaimed the Temple and rededicated it to God. Lighting the Ner Tamid is one of the activities involved in rededicating the Temple (the eternal light).

The meaning of Hannukah, like all other Jewish festivals, is multifaceted. However, it mainly revolves around two main themes:

1. National Independence – Hannukah commemorates the Maccabees’ victory over the Greek forces that ruled Israel at the time, restoring Jewish rule and reviving religious activity on the Temple Mount.
2. Cultural Autonomy – The Greeks not only ruled Israel, but they also brought their culture with them, along with all of its technological advantages. Prior to the Hannukah activities, there had been a steady movement toward Greek culture rather than the more traditional and religion-oriented Jewish society. According to numerous historians, the Greek rulers enacted legislation to encourage Jews to follow that path while simultaneously prohibiting some rituals, such as circumcision. In this context, and because the Maccabees’ commanders were also Jewish priests, the feast is viewed as a celebration of our cultural autonomy.

• Lucia Day

Lucia’s Day is a holiday dedicated to St. Lucia (St. Lucy). One of the first Christians to be martyred. On December 13, National Day, the Feast of Saint Luce, Patron Saint of Light, the Festival of Light is held. The event honors the triumph of light over darkness, the triumph of good over evil, and the rebirth of life. The festivities begin with a spectacular Lantern Competition in the first week of December. A modest, local family outing that afternoon to distribute out small gifts to individuals who could need a little extra cheer: bus drivers, coworkers, police officers, nurses, public works staff members, and others is an easy approach to commemorate this idea without a lot of fanfare. Allowing your children to choose the recipients encourages them to recognize the genuine spirit of the season, just as St. Lucy did hundreds of years ago.

• Las Posada

From the 16^th through the 24^th of December, the traditional Mexican festival Las Posadas takes place. It recalls Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter by throwing a series of festivities around the community. It is a huge celebration in various parts of Mexico, with the entire community participating. If the immigrant community is large enough, Mexican immigrants in other parts of the world can also celebrate Las Posadas, and participation isn’t limited to Mexicans; other members of the community are free to join in. Las Posadas means “The Inns” in Spanish, and during this celebration, individuals form a procession that visits homes symbolically, asking for shelter.

The procession’s participants dress up, perform songs, and occasionally bring a burro or donkey to represent the donkey that took Mary to Jerusalem. Each night, one residence is designated as the “inn,” and when the procession arrives, the hosts welcome them in for a Posadas celebration that includes music, dancing, food, and prayer.

• Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an annual African-American festival observed from December 26 to January 1 in the United States. It underlines the significance of the pan-African family and the issues that arise from it. Each of the seven Kwanzaa values is honored on each of the festival’s days: unity, self-determination, communal responsibility, cooperative economy, purpose, creativity, and faith. Fruits, vegetables, and nuts, as well as a straw mat, a candleholder, ears of corn (maize), gifts, a community cup symbolizing unity, and seven candles in the African colors of red, green, and black, symbolizing the seven principles Every Day, the family, gathers to light one of the candles in the kinara, or candleholder, and to debate the Day’s principle.

On December 31, the family gathers for the karma, a community feast. During the ceremony, some attendees dress in traditional African attire. Maulana Karenga, an Africana studies professor, founded Kwanzaa in 1966. Kwanzaa gained popularity as the Afrocentrist movement increased, emphasizing Black self-sufficiency in opposition to white imperialist narratives and histories. While many Black Americans honored the holiday in the 1980s and 1990s, its popularity has waned in the following generations.

• New year Eve

New Year’s Eve is one of the major global celebrations. It is celebrated on December 31. People believe that the new year will grant their wishes. For many people, New Year’s Eve is a day of conflicting emotions. On the one hand, it is a time to reflect on the year that has passed and look forward to what the New Year has in store. Some people, on the other hand, feel nostalgic as they reminisce on events that occurred in their lives over the previous year. This is the time of year when many individuals start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. They make a resolution to get what they didn’t get this year. It’s a celebration of what’s yet to come, Aspirations, mental and bodily cleansing out a new starting: a new beginning and a chance to correct any errors.

• Festivus

Festivus is a holiday celebrated every year on December 23. Festivus was created by Dan O’Keefe, a Seinfeld writer whose father established a similar festival in real life that included an Airing of Grievances and a wrestling match. However, O’Keefe’s father’s practice of putting a clock in a bag and fastening it to a wall was not included in the episode. The Airing of Grievances is one of the most prominent Festivus customs, in which relatives and friends can inform each other about how they were disappointed by that person in the previous year. Before the Feats of Strength competition, when the head of the household must be pinned in a wrestling contest beneath the Festivus pole, a Festivus feast is enjoyed.

• Yule

Yule, or the original 12-day solstice holiday thousands of years before Christmas, is regarded as one of the world’s oldest winter festivals. On the winter solstice, the Shortest Day of the year, it begins and finishes 12 days later. This year, yule falls on December 21, 2021, and ends on January 1, 2022. If you use the word yule to allude to Christmas, though, you’re referring to a different time period. Christmas Day (December 25) and the entire Christmas season are both referred to as Yule. Similarly, the term Christmas can apply to both December 25 and the entire Christmas season. Yule is one of the world’s oldest winter holidays. Hunters spent the majority of their time outside. Seasons and weather were crucial in their life. Yule has many different customs and traditions. Wassailing (caroling), drinking, and dancing were common parts of the festivities.

• Boxing Day

Boxing Day is the Day following Christmas Day, and it is a holiday. It began in the United Kingdom and is now observed in many countries that were once part of the British Empire. For servants, Boxing Day was a day off when they got a ‘Christmas Box’ from the master. Afterward, they give the servants the rest of the Day off. The servants would often return home to give their families’ Christmas Boxes.’ On Christmas Day, a box was placed in churches to collect money for the poor, which was then opened the next Day.

When great sailing ships set sail, they would keep a sealed box onboard holding money for good luck. Some historians connect Boxing Day to little alms boxes placed at church doors during Advent, begging money to support the poor. The donations would be distributed to needy individuals around the community the Day following Christmas by members of the church clergy. Because the Day was devoted to St. Stephen, a patron saint famed for his good works and reputation as the first Christian martyr, December 26 was chosen for these humanitarian activities.

• Bodhi Day

On December 8, Japan commemorates Bodhi Day. The Laba Festival is the Chinese counterpart, which takes place on the eighth Day of the Chinese calendar’s twelfth lunar month (December or January). On this Day, Siddhartha Gautama was enlightened. Siddhartha had lately abandoned years of intense ascetic practices and vowed to sit under a peepal tree and contemplate until he discovered the cause of sorrow and how to free oneself from it, according to legend. The Buddha discovered all of his previous lives in the cycle of rebirth during the first watch, learning that he had been born and reincarnated countless times before. The Buddha discovered the Law of Karma and the need to follow the Eightfold Path during the second watch.

The Buddha discovered the Four Noble Truths during the third watch and finally attained Nirvana. On the third watch, the morning star rose early in the morning, and Siddhartha got the answers he sought, becoming Enlightened and experiencing Nirvana. Siddhartha attained the status of Buddha, or “Awakened One.” On this Day, people meditate, study the Dharma, chant Buddhist texts, and/or undertake acts of kindness toward others. Some Buddhists observe the holiday with a traditional tea and cake supper.

Conclusion:

December is the year’s final month. It’s the month of new beginnings and optimism! It’s unlike any other month in that there are so many distinct holiday celebrations to choose from. Every year brings a plethora of new experiences, usually a balanced mix of good and negative. By December, most of us are fatigued and can’t wait for the year to be over, clinging to the unwavering hope and optimism that the new year would treat us better.

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