Holiday traditions, customs vary in different religions, cultures

Entertainment, decorations result from holiday origins

ANN MARIE TRIETLEY
Staff Writer

As snowflakes begin to flutter down from the clouds, some students are abandoning their schoolbooks in anticipation of Christmas cookies and the arrival of Old St. Nick. This time of year also features fascinating traditions for students who celebrate Kwanzaa and Hanukkah and international students who maintain cultural holiday festivities.

Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. It is celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

The Black Student Union [BSU] hosted their annual Kwanzaa celebration on Dec. 7 at the Newman Center. The event is open to students, faculty and community members. Bernard Woma, a renowned African drummer from Ghana who teaches at Fredonia, provided the African drumming and dancing entertainment. Arts and crafts followed by a huge, plentiful dinner for all, were shared in the true spirit of the Kwanzaa season.

"We decorate with traditional African colors of red, black, yellow and green," said Lauren Williams, a junior liberal arts major and executive board member of the BSU. "Arts and crafts are a big part of the Kwanzaa celebration, so we have different activities like pillow making, painting and lanyard. The biggest part of the celebration is the huge dinner that we hold. We have many dishes including ham, mac and cheese, dressing, chicken and sweet potatoes. It really is a lot of fun and we enjoy ourselves."

MARY LEMCKE/ Illustration Editor

Kwanzaa decorations include traditional African items like baskets, cloth patterns and harvest symbols.

"We take pride in this celebration because it brings a lot of people together and we feel like a family," Williams said. "The seven principles of Kwanzaa are Umoja, Ujiima, Ujama, Kumkumba, Kujijakalia, Imani, and Nia. They all represent different values."

Each of these principles of Kwanzaa is represented by a candle. Umoja means unity among family, race, nations and community. Ujiima represents creative work and the responsibility of building a community and solving problems together. Ujama represents cooperative economics and to profit and prosper from businesses. Kumkumba is creativity for making the community as beautiful as possible. Kujijakalia symbolizes self-determination. Imani symbolizes faith and a belief in righteousness and victory in the face of struggle. Nia represents purpose, to restore the community to its original greatness.

The Jewish Student Union [JSU] had planned a Hanukkah/Shabbat dinner but had to cancel it because the Kwanzaa dinner was scheduled for the same night. However, a battle over holiday celebrations did not ensue. Holidays are a time for peace, love and understanding, after all.

"There really isn't that much in special music for Hanukkah unless you are counting songs about dreidels, like 'I Had A Little Dreidel' or 'Sivy Von," said.

Scott Martin, a sophomore music business major and vice president of the JSU. "Decorations would include dreidels and menorahs. Basically Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, so the biggest deal is lighting the menorah. You only light one candle per night, besides the Shamus, which is the middle candle; it is used to light all the other candles. Then with each night you light more and more, until the eighth night (Hanukkah is counted by nights as it starts at sundown like all Jewish holidays) where all the candles are lit."

A dreidel is a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The letters mean "A Great Miracle Happened There."

In Spain and South America, Christmas is celebrated in a deeply religious way. However, different countries observe different traditions as far as cuisine, clothing and decorations.

"My family celebrates Christmas traditionally," said Diego Leon, a senior early childhood education major and corresponding secretary of Latinos Unidos. "But for New Years Eve, we down a grape with each of the twelve chimes of the bell during the New Year countdown, while making a wish with each one. Also, those who want to find love in the new year wear red underwear and/or yellow if they want money. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine."

In Argentina and Uruguay, holiday revelers enjoy pan dulce, a Christmas bread filled with candies, and sidra, a type of cider. Cuba, an atheist nation since 1959, only began celebrating Christmas in 1997, when Fidel Castro declared it a holiday in honor of the arrival of Pope John Paul II. Now feasts of pork, beans, apple cider, bananas and fruit mark its celebration.

Colombian families use artificial trees for ecological reasons. Decorations include vibrant, tropical flowers, wild orchids and wreaths.

The holiday season, regardless of religion or celebration practices, is a time to adopt the principles of peace, love and caring. Many cultures celebrate in different ways and with unique traditions. It does not take a portly gentleman in red velour to manifest holiday cheer.