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Alternative Winter Festivals

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FEATURES Alternative Winter Festivals

As the holidays approach, Christmas seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but Christmas is only one of hundreds of different celebrations that take place across the globe. What are some of the other festivities being celebrated now?

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This year: 10th December-18th December Also known as The Festival of Light, Hanukkah is the Jewish celebration which takes place around December every year. It celebrates the legend in which the Jews rose up against their oppressors in what is know as the Maccabean revolt. It is characterised by the lighting of the eight candles of the Menorah over the eight nights, and despite popular belief, it is not the ‘Jewish alternative to Christmas’.

Bodhi Day

8th December This is the Buddhist celebration of Siddhartha Gautama reaching enlightenment; it is celebrated in many Buddhist countries around the world, particularly, Japan- though it has many different names in different languages. However, it is not as popularly celebrated as Vesak Day, on which the birth and death of Gauta-

Hanukkah

ma Buddha are celebrated.

Pancha Ganapati

21st-25th December

This is a modern festival created in 1985 as a way for Hindu families to celebrate among the many other holidays in December without compromising their beliefs: it honours Ganesh, patron of Arts and Guardian of Culture, and feasts, simple gifts and prayer.

Kwanzaa

26th December- 1st January This is not a religious holiday but a cultural one. First celebrated in 1966, this is another modern celebration which involves gifts and feasts. It was intended to be an African American holiday following the California Watts Riots, but is acknowledged worldwide as a cele-

bration of black history.

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