A Few Unusual Ways to
Observe the Holidays
December is jam-packed with holidays: Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa—even Bodhi Day, a Japanese celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment.
Let’s look at some of the more unusual ways these holidays are observed around the world:
Leap of Faith
Moroccan Jews have a unique Hanukkah tradition involving the oily wicks they use instead of candles in their menorahs.
On the last day of the festival, Jewish children go from house to house collecting the leftover cotton wicks.At sundown, these wicks are ignited to help create a large bonfire.
Each community then gathers to sing, dance, and leap over the fire, which is believed to bring good luck to the jumper, particularly women seeking a partner or struggling to conceive.
Yule Wonder About These Lads
Icelandic children enjoy not just one Santa, but 13. However, these creatures are not merely benevolent, jolly old men but mischievous trolls.
The so-called Yule Lads (actually, adults in costume) roam the countryside during the two weeks before Christmas, one each night.
They take turns visiting children who have left their shoes in an open window, delivering gifts for good kids and rotting potatoes for bad ones.
Each Yule Lad has a distinct personality as evidenced by their names, such as Doorway-Sniffer, Bowl-Licker, Sausage-Swiper, Door-Slammer, and the ominous Window-Peeper.
A Kinara Fit for a King
Kwanzaa, the annual celebration of African-American and pan-African culture, is a seven-day observance beginning Dec. 26.
Holiday rituals include lighting a seven-candle kinara (Swahili for candle holder). Each candle symbolizes one of Kwanzaa’s seven principles: Unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Last year, the city of Detroit unveiled the world’s largest kinara. Towering 30 feet above Campus Martius Park, the giant candelabra was greeted with cheers from the crowd of 150 gathered to celebrate its first lighting.
Now and Zen
Perhaps the most important day of the Buddhist calendar, Bodhi Day celebrates the ultimate goal of enlightenment.
Devout Buddhists spend the day in quiet contemplation and purification. Pondering koans is part of that Zen Buddhist tradition.
Here’s a Zen koan that even the unenlightened can appreciate:
A Buddhist monk asked a man, “Before the lotus blossom has emerged from the water, what is it?”
The man answered, ” A lotus blossom.” The monk pursued, “After it has come out of the water, what is it?” “Lotus leaves,” the man replied.
Coming Back at Ya!
Not surprisingly, December is also National Fruitcake Month. Perhaps the most regifted holiday item, some claim only one fruitcake has ever really been made, and it continues to circle the globe.
The folks in Manitou Springs, Col., have devised another solution for this under-appreciated gift. Check it out:
Happy Holidays
from AG Law!
Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe, License Granted
My Jewish Learning
Smithsonian
Detroit News
Terebess