Mayor’s column: Happy holidays!
This time of year brings joy, happiness and a focus on friends, family and sharing special times. Our diverse community celebrates in various ways with long-standing traditions.
Our Hindu community celebrated Diwali between mid-October and mid-November. Known as the “festival of lights,” Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama from his 14-yearlong exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravana. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ajodhya, the capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with oil lamps and burst firecrackers. Diwali also marks the victory of good over evil.
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days and nights and started on Dec. 8. The word “Hanukkah” means “dedication” in Hebrew. On each night of Hanukkah, the menorah is lit to commemorate a miracle, which occurred after the Jews proclaimed victory over the Syrian Armies in 165 B.C.E. Other traditions associated with Hanukkah are dreidel (a popular game), latkes (tasty potato pancakes) and sufganiyots (jelly doughnuts without the hole).
The origin of Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, Christmas as we know it today is a Victorian invention of the 1860s and celebrated every Dec. 25. Probably the most celebrated holiday in the world, our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions. In our culture, Christmas has also become a time to exchange gifts. A German American cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who drew a different image annually, beginning in 1863, created the popular image of Santa Claus. By the 1880s, Nast’s Santa had evolved into the form we now recognize. Advertisers standardized the image in the 1920s.
Kwanzaa is a unique African American celebration, which focuses on community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement. Kwanzaa is neither political nor religious and not meant to be a substitute for Christmas. It is simply a time of reaffirming African American people, their ancestors and culture. Kwanzaa means “first fruits of the harvest” in the African language Kiswahili. It is celebrated Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 and was started in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Kareenga.
On behalf of the township committee, happy holidays, Feliz Navidad (Spanish), Joyeux Noel (French), Kala Christouyenna (Greek), Nollaig Shone Dhuit (Irish), Buone Feste Natalizie (Italian), Maligayan Paskol (Filipino), Bozego Narodzenie (Polish), and Natale hiare et Annum Faustum (Latin).
The holidays mean happiness in any language!