Holiday traditions unique among religious celebrations
by Diana De Leon, Feature Editor

   Tradition, culture and faith play an important part in most religious celebrations, and the Jewish, Hindu and Muslim faiths along with the Kwanzaa celebration are all distinct.

Chanukkah

   The Jewish celebration of Chanukkah is a festival of rededication also known as the festival of lights.
   “It celebrates a miracle,” Bobbie Willis, instructional aid in the NE testing center, said.
   The story of Chanukkah begins with Alexander the Great, who after conquering the people, allowed them to continue to practice their own beliefs.
   His successor was not as generous; Jews were massacred and the temple was defiled.
   There was only enough oil in the temple to burn for one day, and it would take eight days to prepare a new supply of oil.
   “The one vile of oil burned for eight days. That’s the miracle,” Willis said.
   Willis was not born Jewish but converted after a journey of many years searching for answers to her questions on life.
   Her Jewish name is Ariella Me’ira, which means lioness of God in light.
   She said she raised her children with the Jewish traditions that guided her in her adult life.
   The menorah, a recognizable symbol in the Jewish religion, is a candelabrum with eight places for candles plus a shamus or servant candle of a different height.
   Willis explained that the candles used in this celebration are special and not just any candles.
   “I get my candles at the synagogue,” she said. “That way I know I have the right ones.”
   Each candle represents a night of the eight-day miracle. The servant candle lights the others.
   The candles are lit from left to right in order to pay honor to the newer things first.
  The shamus candle is lit, and three berakhot (Blessings) are recited; the first is a prayer over the candles.
   The second and third are prayers to thank God for the miracle of the oil and for allowing the family to reach this time of year, Willis explained.
   “I have a menorah for each of my grandchildren,” she said. “We say the prayers together out loud.”
   The first and last days of the celebration are very important; they are holy days when Jews do not work, Willis explained.
   Gifts are given to only the small children in the family, and are usually gelt (a small amount of money).
   “I give my grandchildren a silver dollar,” she said. “We play games, eat lots of food and just celebrate till we get tired.”
   Playing dreidel, a gambling game played with a square top is also a tradition during Chanukkah, according to Willis.
   A dreidel is marked with four Hebrew letters: nun, gimmel, heh and shin. These are Yiddish words for nothing, all, half and put, which are the rules of the game.
   Some people believe that the words stand for a Hebrew phrase: a great miracle happened here.
   The game begins with everyone putting in a coin; then the dreidel spins, Willis said. If it lands on nun, nothing happens. On gimmel the player gets the whole pot, on heh he gets half the pot, and on shin the players put one coin in.
   “It is really for the children,” she said. “It’s a joyous occasion, and we have fun.”

Ramadan

   Much like Chanukkah, the Muslim celebration of Ramadan is also steeped in tradition and beliefs.
    Ramadan offers an entire month of blessing, prayer, fasting and charity, which follows the Islamic lunar calendar and started this year on Oct. 27.
   Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam.
   The practice of fasting, called sawm, means no food or drink, not even water, while the sun shines.
   Hoda Said, a Muslim student on NE Campus, explained that the fasting part is not hard because it covers the daylight hours only.
   Before sun-up and after sundown, Muslims can eat and drink whatever they want.
   “Fasting humbles you and shows you what you should be thankful for,” she said.
   Said explained that Ramadan puts the rich and the poor in the same place: hunger everyone feels.
   While hungry and thirsty, Muslims are reminded of the poor and the suffering, Said said.
   The meal eaten before the sun comes up is called the suhoor, and the meal after the sun sets is called iftar.
   Iftar usually begins with dates and sweet drinks for a quick energy boost.
   Said believes she has a unique perspective on the world because her mother was a Baptist before converting to be married to her father, a Muslim from Egypt.
   “I have one foot in each culture, but I consider myself Muslim,” she said.
   Said explained she was raised with both cultures and all the beliefs that go with them.
   When she was little, she celebrated Christmas with a tree and presents as well as Easter egg hunts.
   “Christianity was a part of our environment, but we never had a Bible in the house,” she said. “We would celebrate with my mother’s family.”
   Muslims believe that the Qur’an is a declaration of direction and a means of salvation.
   During this month, Muslims concentrate on their faith with prayer, worship and contemplation.
   There are five daily prayers and a special prayer called Taraweeh (night prayer), which is especially long, Said said.
   Not everyone fasts; the sick, old, young, pregnant and insane are exempt from fasting.
   When the fast ends, it is celebrated for three days in a holiday called EId-al-Fitr (the feast of fast breaking).
   People dress in their finest clothes, decorate their homes, give treats to children and visit friends and family, Said said.
   “We go to the mosques and pray, and we connect with our families,” she said.
   At the end of Ramadan, Said said, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to mosques.

Kwanzaa

   Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday that celebrates culture. It starts on Dec. 26 and runs through Jan. 1.
   Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University, started Kwanzaa in 1966 as a way of bringing the African American community together.
   “You can do all the rituals involved, but I celebrate it differently,” Shewanda Riley, instructor of English on the NE Campus, said.
   The rituals involve lighting candles and gathering the family for an evening of discussion of the celebration’s seven guiding principles.
   Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
   Celebrations often include song, dance, African drums, storytelling and a large feast.
   Many African American organizations plan big celebrations that include many aspects of the traditional rituals.
   Riley believes that many of the seven principles can be a part of everyday life.
   “The rituals don’t mean anything if you don’t focus on the principles,” she said.
   Kwanzaa is derived from a Swahili phrase that means first fruits (matunda ya kwanza). Karenga added the extra “a” to distinguish the African American from the African.
   In Africa the tribes would come together and sing, dance, eat and celebrate the harvest.
   Kwanzaa comes out of the agricultural people of Africa, and although African Americans are urban, the concept of gathering and celebrating is the basis for the holiday.
   Riley, a Christian, celebrates all holidays involved with her faith and believes that Kwanzaa helps the African American community to focus on principles.
   “So many African Americans don’t know anything about their culture. They are westernized,” she said.
   Riley explained the self-determination principle is as easy as planning out a strategy for the coming year.
   Unity is spending quality time with family while economics involves patronizing an African American-owned store.
   Riley does not believe Kwanzaa has fulfilled its purpose of uniting the African American community, but she does believe it has opened up African American cultural perspectives to many people.
   The seven principles are the focus of the celebration for Riley, who believes that who a person is is determined by what that person does.
   “I make it a point to do something myself that focuses on the principles,” she said.

Diwali

    Traditions also are a large part of the Hindu celebration of Diwali, sometimes called the festival of lights.
   Diwali is derived from the Sanskrit word deepavali, deepa meaning light and avail meaning a row.
   Thus, during Diwali, a row of lights, lamps and candles are lit throughout the home, making it a radiant festival.
   “It is one of the holidays I look forward to,” Piyush Soni, a SE Campus student, said.
   Soni describes the festivities as a kind of New Year celebration, and some celebrations in India are similar to Christmas.
   The Hindu religion is like a huge tree with many branches, and many different areas of India celebrate differently, according to Soni.
   Diwali is five days long and includes special foods and elaborate dinners for entire families to gather and celebrate.
   A legend and history goes with each day of the celebration.
   One such legend involves a young wife who prevented the death of her husband, who was doomed to die from a snake bite on the fourth day of his marriage.
   His wife put ornaments, gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance to the bedroom.
   She then lit many lamps all over the room.
   When the god of death came, he was so dazzled by the lights that he stayed all night in order to hear songs and stories sung by the young wife.
   The next morning the snake left without claiming the life of the young husband.
   In another legend, the lamps are lit along a street row as a way of welcome for the king.
   Soni said that his family has, at times, had a Christmas tree, but more because they live in the United States than anything else.
   “I am an Americanized Hindu, but I still follow the practices of my religion,” he said.
   Each day of Diwali includes prayer and meditation as well as a feast. The feast aspect of the celebration is what reminds Soni of the U.S. Thanksgiving.
   “The feast part is very big in my family,” he said. “My mom cooks up special things.”
   The Diwali holiday symbolizes unity in diversity because each region celebrates in a different way, Soni said.