We love to celebrate

Any excuse for a celebration, humans love to have a reason to have a celebration. Yesterday I listed a few of the religious holidays in December, so I thought the day before Christmas I would give a longer list than yesterday. Whatever your faith, enjoy your day of celbration

Buddhism

·       8 December Bodhi Day is a day of Enlightenment, celebrating the day that the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama) experienced enlightenment (also known as Bodhi).

Christianity

·       Advent: four Sundays preceding Christmas Day

·       4 December Saint Barbara's Day the Feast of St. Barbara is celebrated by Artillery regiments across the Commonwealth and some western Catholic countries.

·       5 December Krampusnacht The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6 December. In Alpine countries, Saint Nicholas has a devilish companion named Krampus who punishes the bad children the night before.

·       6 December Saint Nicholas' Day

·       8 December Feast of the Immaculate Conception Day The day of Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception is celebrated as a public holiday in many Catholic countries.

·       13 December Saint Lucia's Day Church Feast Day. Saint Lucia comes as a young woman with lights and sweets.

·       16–24 December Las Posadas procession to various family lodgings for celebration & prayer and to re-enact Mary & Joseph's journey to Bethlehem

·       December 21 Longest Night: A modern Christian service to help those coping with loss, usually held on the eve of the Winter solstice.

·       24 December Christmas Eve In many countries e.g. the German speaking countries, but also in Poland, Hungary and the Nordic countries, gift giving is on 24 December.

·       25 December and 7 January Christmas Day celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike.

·       25 December Anastasia of Sirmium feast day

·       25 December–6 January Twelve Days of Christmas

·       26 December Saint Stephen's Day In Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic a holiday celebrated as Second Day of Christmas.

·       27 December Saint John the Evangelist's Day

·       28 December Holy Innocents' Day

·       31 December Saint Sylvester's Day

Hinduism

·       December 21 through 25 Pancha Ganapati: a modern five-day Hindu festival celebrated from in honor of Ganesha.

Historical

·       Saturnalia: 17–23 December – An ancient Roman winter solstice festival in honor of the deity Saturn, held on the 17 December of the Julian calendar and expanded with festivities through to 23 December.

·       25 December Malkh is a festival dedicated to the Deela-Malkh in Vainakh mythology. 25 December was the birthday and the festival of the Sun

·       25 December Mōdraniht: or Mothers' Night, the Saxon winter solstice festival. was an event held at what is now Christmas Eve by the Anglo-Saxon Pagan

·       25 December Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Day of the birth of the Unconquered Sun):– late Roman Empire

Humanism

·       23 December HumanLight Humanist holiday originated by the New Jersey Humanist Network in celebration of "a Humanist's vision of a good future."[9]

Judaism

·       Hanukkah: usually falls anywhere between late November and early January

Secular

·       Mid-November and early January Yule: Pagan winter festival that was celebrated by the historical Germanic people.

·       21 December Yalda The turning point, Winter Solstice. As the longest night of the year and the beginning of the lengthening of days, Shabe Yaldā or Shabe Chelle is an Iranian festival celebrating the victory of light and goodness over darkness and evil. Shabe yalda means 'birthday eve.' According to Persian mythology, Mithra was born at dawn on 22 December to a virgin mother. He symbolizes light, truth, goodness, strength, and friendship. Herodotus reports that this was the most important holiday of the year for contemporary Persians. In modern times Persians celebrate Yalda by staying up late or all night, a practice known as Shab Chera meaning 'night gazing'. Fruits and nuts are eaten, especially pomegranates and watermelons, whose red color invokes the crimson hues of dawn and symbolize Mithra.

·       Koliada: Slavic winter festival celebrated on late December with parades and singers who visit houses and receive gifts.

·       3 December International Day of Disabled Persons

·       10 December Human Rights Day

·       13 December Salgirah celebration of Shia Ismaili Muslims of their Imam (Aga Khan IV)

·       15 December Zamenhof Day  Birthday of Ludwig Zamenhof, inventor of Esperanto; holiday reunion for Esperantists

·       21 December Soyal: Zuni and Hopi a celebration of the solstice by the Zuni and Hopi

·       21 December Solstice.

·       22 December Dongzhi Festival – a celebration of Winter

·       25 December Newtonmas As an alternative to celebrating the religious holiday Christmas, some atheists and skeptics have chosen to celebrate December 25 as Newtonmas, due to it being Isaac Newton's birthday on the old style date.

·       26 December Boxing Day.

·       26 December–1 January Kwanzaa– Pan-African festival celebrated in the US

·       31 December–before dawn of 1 January Hogmanay Scottish New Year's Eve celebration

·       31 December New Year's Eve last day of the Gregorian year

·       31 December Watch Night A day where people celebrate the ending of the year and watch for the dawn of the new year

Unitarian Universalism

·       Chalica: first week of December – A holiday created in 2005, celebrated by some Unitarian Universalists.