Festivals and Traditions of Light

Many Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. Christmas is celebrated on January 6th and 7th. The churches have always been decorated with special lamps and candles. Copts also give candles to the poor. They represent the candles Joseph used to protect Mary with when Jesus was born.

On the night of the 6th, the Coptic Christians go to the church for mass and at midnight they eat dinner On the morning of the 7th gifts are exchanged and people visit each other.

There are four weeks of Advent during which a candle is lit each week. In Egypt, Advent lasts for forty-five days and people fast. They do not eat any meat, poultry or dairy products.

Everyone buys new clothes to wear to the Christmas Eve church service.

Before Christmas, Christian homes are decorated with lights, Christmas trees and small mangers.

On Christmas morning people people visit friends and neighbors. They bring a gift of shortbread which is called "Kaik."

Traditions of light: Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights celebrated in countries all over the world. In 165 B.C. there was a great battle between the Maccabees and the Syrians. The Jews won the battle and when they went to their temple, they found that the Syrians had allowed their sacred light to go out. They only had oil for one day. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the oil lasted 8 days until a messenger could return with more. There are nine candles in the menorah. One of the is used to light the other candles and the other eight stand for the eight days that the oil kept burning

o Make special foods such as potato pancakes.

o On Hanukkah it is traditional for parents to give their children money or "gelt." This tradition can be replicated in the classroom by distributing small bags of chocolate "gelt" which is wrapped in foil to look like money.

Traditions of light: Kwanzaa

This new holiday has grown in popularity among the ethnically aware African-American community. The holiday is not attempting to co-opt Christmas, which is overwhelming in this American culture, but is following the lead of Hanukkah in providing an ethnically meaningful celebration of light.

Like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa is a one-week celebration that features light (candles) and gifts, and the harvest foods of Africa. The holiday is an opportunity to focus on moral values that have their origins in African village tradition. First celebrated in 1966, Kwanzaa is celebrated every year since from December 26 through January 1. Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. The holiday concludes with a community feast featuring traditional African food, ceremonies honoring the ancestors, assessing the old year and committing to the New Year, performances, music and dancing. This is one more festival that Americans can enjoy at this season of darkness.

Festival of Light: Ramadan

Muslims around the world have a lunar calendar, which moves holidays around the calendar over a number of years. In 2001 and 2002, Ramadan was celebrated at the dark time of the year, close to other festivals of light. Each calendar year the Festival begins earlier, so that a few years from now, Ramadan will be at the height of the summer.

Ramadan is not a celebration of literal light, but of spiritual light. It is the month of fasting from dawn to sundown, one of the five pillars of Islam, a mandatory act of faith. Ramadan is meant to remind people of the blessings of food; of the spiritual benefits of refraining from food, water and sex for the daytime hours of this holy month. Food is to be donated to the poor, to widows and orphans.

Other Festivals of Light

o New Year's Eve in Brazil

It is summer in Rio de Janeiro on December 31st. Although this isn't strictly a New Year's Eve celebration, people go to the beach at midnight and ask Iemanja, the African goddess of waters, to give them good luck. Hundreds of candles are lit in the sand. People throw white flowers into the water as a gift to Iemanja. They also give her combs and perfume. The celebrations, with drumming and singing, begin at midnight and go on until dawn.

o Kwansaa in the United States

Kwanzaa begins on December 26th to honor African harvest traditions. It was created in 1966. Candles representing the seven principles of Kwanzaa are lit each night for a week. Family and friends come together to take pride in their unique culture and to celebrate their common heritage.