Fast Facts

December is the peak of the Holiday Season!

St. Lucias Day is a festival of lights celebrated in Sweden, Norway, and the Swedishspeaking areas of Finland on December 13 in honour of St. Lucia (St. Lucy). One of the earliest Christian martyrs, St. Lucia was killed by the Romans in 304 CE because of her religious beliefs. St. Lucias Day is observed on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. In Scandinavian countries each town elects its own St. Lucia.

The ringing of the temple bell 108 times is known as Joyanokane in Japanese. It’s said that there are 108 worldly desires and that ringing the bell 108 times removes them and purifies the soul to welcome the new year.

The festival marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Scandinavia, and it is meant to bring hope and light during the darkest time of the year.

Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, holiday (December 26) on which servants, tradespeople, and the poor traditionally were presented with gifts. By the 21st century it had become a day associated with shopping and sporting events. Explanations for the origin of the name Boxing Day have varied, with some believing that it derived from the opening of alms boxes that had been placed in churches for the collection of donations to aid the poor.

In preparation for the feast day, many individuals in the community erect altars in their home. In many cases they are made of a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe that is surrounded by candles and flowers.

Each December 12th, the Mexican Catholic community of Scott County celebrates the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Th is celebration commemorates the appearance of Mary to the Mexican peasant Juan Diego in 1531. Th e feast day is an important holiday in Mexico. It has also become an important day for Mexican Americans to celebrate their religious and cultural identity.

Kwanzaa is an annual holiday affirming African family and social values that is celebrated primarily in the United States from December 26 to January 1. Both the name and the celebration were devised in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana studies at California State University in Long Beach and an important figure in Afrocentrism. Karenga borrowed the word kwanza, meaning “ rst,” from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, adding the seventh letter, an extra a, to make the word long enough to accommodate one letter for each of the seven children present at an early celebration.

Sources:

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia. “Kwanzaa.” Encyclopedia Britannica, October 26, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ Kwanzaa.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “St. Lucia’s Day.” Encyclopedia Britannica, October 13, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ St-Lucias-Day. Jikei COM Group. “Annual Events in Japan.” Jikei COM International Center, Accessed November 16, 2022. https://www.jikei. asia/com/en/schoollife/event_oomisoka. html#:~:text=December%2031st%2C%20 the%20final%20day,began%20in%20the%20 Heian%20period. “Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day Celebration.” Mississippi Arts Commission, Accessed November 16, 2022. https://arts.ms.gov/folklife/ artist.php?dirname=guadalupe_ ourlady#:~:text=Each%20December%20 12th%2C%20the%20Mexican,an%20 important%20holiday%20in%20Mexico.