HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
The first thing which I noticed when we arrived at our timeshare in Kauai this December, was a Holiday symbol — an inflatable snowman decoration in front of the office. This year, three holidays which all represent light, are celebrated at the same time. On December 25th, Christmas and coincidentally (because Jewish holidays follow the lunar calendar) the beginning of the Jewish weeklong holiday, Hanukkah, as well as the celebration of the African and African-American holiday, Kwanzaa, which also lasts for a week.
Each holiday follows certain traditions. And of course, for blended families, there are multiple celebrations. When I was growing up in Riga, the capital of Latvia, in the then Soviet Union, we didn’t celebrate Christmas; but instead, we celebrated New Years with similar decorations as on Christmas, known as Jesus’ birthday. Interestingly, December 25th is not his birthdate. It is not the date when the Jewish preacher Yeshua, whose name was translated into Greek as Iesous, was born. During my vacation in Kauai, I was reading “Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor.” by Joseph Campbell.
According to Joseph Campbell, “The Christmas date was placed on December twenty-fifth, which was solstice time, in order to compete with the Lord of Light, Mithra. No one really knows when Christ was born. It is settled on December twenty-fifth for mythological, not historical reasons.”
Regardless of the reason and whose holiday it is, let’s celebrate and have a good time. In spite of the 80° F weather, the snowman is not going to melt in Kauai, where I encountered other various holiday decorations as well.
Enjoy and Share!