Light and Love This Holiday Season

Flame and light have been important to the human heart mind and soul since the notion of the soul first kindled. Flame often represents the soul. With the act of the lighting of a candle, we can dedicate a bit of our soul to the concept being honored. In December, in the US, we have many holidays that make wonderful use of flame and light.

On the fourth Sunday before Christmas, we begin celebrating Advent using an Advent Wreath. An advent wreath has five candles, one for each Sunday before Christmas and a fifth one for Christmas day. The first four candles are usually tapers. The coloring of the candles may vary. Sometimes all of the candles are purple. Sometimes there are three purple candles and one pink one. On the first three Sundays, we usually light a purple candle. These first three candles represent Hope/Prophecy, Love/The Way of Christ and the Joy of Christ. The fourth candle may also be purple, but usually it is pink. The fourth candle, which represents the Peace of Christ, is lit on the fourth Sunday. The candle in the center is traditionally a larger white pillar. This is the Christ candle. It is lit on Christmas day to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

The advent tradition usually takes place in church and is conducted by members of the clergy and the congregation. The lighting of the candle gives us a moment to reflect on the meaning and importance of the attributes of Christ during the holiday season and at all times. It is a time when we can remind ourselves to kindle those qualities in our own hearts. When lighting the candle it is traditional for the lighter of the flame to read a bit of scripture related to the candles' meaning. The person lighting the candle usually says a few words of belief and faith during the lighting. When the candle is lit, the congregations joins together in prayer.

There are also many lovely celebrations of light that can be practiced in the home. Of course many of the practices that we now use as Christian practices were actually inspired by or adopted from other traditions. For example, Yule, is the basis of many of the trappings or our current Christmas celebration. In olden times, Yule was the celebration of the Winter Solstice. It is still celebrated by many pagan people today. It occurs on or around December twenty-first. Yule celebrates the rebirth of light. It is the longest night of the year. It is said that on the night of Yule, the Goddess gives birth to the Sun God. In this way She renews the hope with light reborn. Yule is a time to wake up to new goals. It is a time to shed regret.

During Yule fires or candles are kindled to burn through the twelve days preceding Christmas. One very important flame and light based ways of celebrating Yule which has survived into our modern day Christmas celebrations is the lighting of the Yule Log. This ceremony is deeply rooted centuries of tradition. According to custom, a new log must be lit each year using a piece of the Yule log from the preceding year. The new Yule log, which is usually oak or ash, is to be burned continuously during the twelve days before Christmas. The ash and remnants of the burned log are believed to guard the home against fire and lightning during the year to come. The finer ashes are scattered over the fields to bring abundance and fortune in the coming harvest. The largest remaining piece of the log is carefully kept and used to kindle the next years' Yule log.

Other Christmas time traditions come from still other cultures. The Christian practice of lighting a candle on Christmas eve actually comes from the Jewish Festival of Lights - Chanukah. Chanukah means rededication in Hebrew. It is celebrated roughly concurrent with Advent and the 12 days of Christmas.

The ceremony of Chanukah celebrates the time when Israel's independence was won from the Seleucid monarchy. This was accomplished by a family of brothers who were brave warriors known as the Maccabees. After the battle, the temple needed to be rededicated because the Greeks had performed many offensive acts there. It was necessary to relight eternal flame of the Menorah, and only sacred olive oil could be used. However, there was only enough sacred oil for one day. The flame could not go out, and it would take eight days to prepare more sacred oil. Miraculously, the one day's worth of oil burned for eight days. This gave the Jewish people enough time to prepare more oil. This is why Chanukah is called the "Festival of Lights". It is also why the celebration lasts for eight nights with the candles being lit every night. Chanukah is a joyous and festive time during which friends and family members gather and celebrate.

At Chanukah, a menorah (a candle holder that holds nine candles) is used. A candle is lit for each of the eight days of Chanukah. The ninth candle, called a servant or Shamash, is used to light the others. The Shamash holds a place at the center of the menorah. It is placed at a different height from the other candles. Every evening, a new candle is added to the menorah, and the candles are lit. The candles are added and lit from the left to the right. So on the first day, there is one candle on the far left, and it is lit. On the second day, another candle is added to the right of it, and they are both lit. On the third day, a third candle is added to the right of that, and all three are lit, and so on until all 8 candles are lit. At dusk friends and family members gather together for the lighting of the menorah. This is a nightly ceremony throughout Chanukah. Those gathered sing blessings as the candles are being lit.

It is most desirable and beautiful to light the menorah as the first stars become visible in the evening sky. Of course, it is alright to wait until later if necessary. When the menorah is lit, a blessing is spoken. The whole household witnesses the beautiful, traditional ceremony of the lighting of the menorah. After the menorah has been lit, it is placed in full view of a window. In this way people passing can see and enjoy it's beauty and meaning. The menorah is to stay lit until the candles have burned down.

Another holiday that uses the concept of light is the fairly modern Kwanzaa. This African American holiday is celebrated during the last week of December, from the 26th to January 1st. This is an African American holiday that is celebrated mostly in the US. It was established in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, (Professor of Africana Studies, California State University, Long Beach as an African American alternative to Christmas. However, as time has passed, it has become more of an addition to Christmas. It extends the season of celebration and remembrance through the week that separates Christmas and New Year's Eve.

In the early days of Kwanzaa, it was rather a militant holiday. It was a statement of self assertion for African Americans whose roots and history had been obliterated. It was a way of building new, positive history separately from white history. However, as time has passed, the rebellious aspects of Kwanzaa seem to have settled, and it is now a time when African Americans can simply celebrate the strength, joy, and potential of the African American community.

Kwanzaa is based in seven principles which are intended to be the basis of a strong African American community. They are:

1. Unity - Unite the mind, body, and spirit to reach your goals.

2. Self-Determination - To thine own self be true. Set your own goals and values.

3. Collective Work and Responsibility - Show that you appreciate the gift of life by fulfilling your duties and doing your best.

4. Cooperative Economics - Make the best use of all of your resources, and do it in a way that upholds the 7 principles.

5. Purpose - Reach valuable achievements that are motivated by a purpose that comes from your soul.

6. Creativity - Understand and utilize your natural gifts so that you can better contribute to humanity.

7. Faith - Emanate faith with a positive mind that kindled by enduring power and light.

For each of these principles, a candle is lit and placed in a holder called a kinara. These candles are in the colors of the African flag, red, green, and black. At the onset of Kwanzaa, a single black candle is placed in the center of the kinara and lit. The three candles on the left of the central candle are red. Those on the right are green. One candle is added each day, alternating colors. Just as with the menorah, when the new candle is added, all of the candles are lit during a time of reflection. There is no rule as to who will add and light the candles. This is a decision that is made jointly by the members of the family.

I personally believe that it is wonderful that all of these celebrations share the common concept of light being reborn and sustained by a miracle that kindles the light of the soul. Light has always been symbolic of hope and wisdom. All of these wonderful traditions help us to meditate upon and absorb the other qualities of light. For myself, I intend to celebrate a bit of each of these lovely, light filled traditions this season. It will extend my holiday joy and make my holiday season, mindful, thoughtful, and fruitful.

Light & Love to you and yours, this Holiday Season and always!

For more about celebrating the holidays, you may enjoy:

Five Golden CDs For Christmas
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1237705/five_golden_cds_for_christmas.html?cat=33

Season of Light
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1237659/the_season_of_light.html?cat=10

Celebrating A Green Christmas Can Keep You From Getting "In the Red"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1207729/celebrating_a_green_christmas_can_keep.html?cat=74

Resources:

Advent DomesticChurch.com
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19981101/SCRMNTL/advntwrth.htm

The Yule Log
http://thecronescottage.tripod.com/thecottagedecyule2001/id16.html

Judaism 101
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

Official Kwanzaa Website
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/greetings_and.shtml