Christmas isn't the only holiday!

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Christmas isn't the only holiday that many families celebrate around the holiday season. There's many other well known holidays, that different religions celebrate. Have you ever wanted to know where these holidays came from? I know I sure have. So being the dork that I am, I decided to look it up. christmas: So Christmas, what exactly is it? Is it a time to stuff your face full of great, yummy, terrific food. Or a day to open tons of presents, and recieve all the gifts from santa that you've asked for. Oh no, there's so much more to Christmas. Have you ever wondered what the history of Christmas was? Sure, I know, all of us don't celebrate Christmas, but even if you don't, aren't you curious about how it began? I am Date observed: December 25th the name: Since about 400 AD, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. 'Christ' means 'Messiah' or 'Anointed One' - the title given to Jesus - and 'Mass' was a religious festival. kwanzaa: Kwanzaa is a non-religious, week-long holiday established in 1966 to celebrate African heritage. Observances include candle-lighting, social gatherings, and reflection on seven community-oriented principles. date: December 26-January 01 the name: Kwanzaa is from a Swahili word, "Kwanza", which means first which comes from the phrase "Matunda Ya Kwanza" which translates as "First Fruits" Hanukkah Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights honoring the perseverance of Judaism during ancient times, and the story of how the Menorah lamp miraculously remained lit for eight days. date: (this year) December 15 at sundowm - December 23 at nightfall the name: The reason there are so many spellings is that Hanukkah is an english transliteration of a word in another language (Hebrew) and there just is no letter in English for the Hebrew sound that starts Hanukkah! Of course there are other holidays that have to do with this season, but these three are the most popular celebrated in the US. If you have any holiday traditions that you participate in, feel free to post them here Hopefully that explains the holidays a little more. Thanks for reading!