Celebrations in December

The month of December is a time of many religious celebrations.

• Some Atheists celebrate the Winter Solstice. This is the day of the year when the night time is longest, and the daytime shortest. It is on 22 December.

• Buddhists celebrate Bodhi Day (a.k.a. Rohatsu) on 8 December

• Some Native Americans and Aboriginal groups elsewhere in the world also observe the Winter Solstice. They associate different beliefs and rituals with it.

• Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah, (a.k.a. Chanukah; “Feast of Dedication” and “Festival of Lights”). This is an 8 day observance which recalls a miracle in the Jerusalem temple during a war fought by the Maccabees in the cause of religious freedom.

• Muslims’ holy days are fixed to the lunar calendar. On successive years, the days migrate about ten days earlier as viewed on the Gregorian calendar. Id al-Adha (a.k.a. the Feast of Sacrifice or Day of Sacrifice) occurs during the 12th lunar month of the Islamic year.

• Christians in the West celebrate Christmas on 25 December, as the day when the Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born.