Celebrate!
December is, of course, the midwinter time (in the Northern Hemisphere) full of festivals of light. Christmas, Chanukah, Yule, Kwanzaa—this month gives us lots of opportunities for lighting candles and hanging lights, for presents and feasting and singing and celebrating. You can click on the links below for information, activities, ways to celebrate and more. Or start out with a website that’s got so much great December stuff it won’t fit in one category by clicking here.
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We Honor… |
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| Charles Dickens, British Unitarian, and author of A Christmas Carol. When Dickens wrote A Christmas Corol in 1843, many Christmas traditions had almost died out, and the holiday was hardly celebrated. England was becoming more and more industrial, and people leaving farms to work in factories had left their old customs behind. But the story, which was wildly popular, brought enthusiasm back to the cities for practices like singing Christmas carols and feasting on special foods. The picture of the Crachit family celebrating their Christmas together inspired people to find a way to celebrate Christmas in the cities, and the change of heart which comes to Ebeneezer Scrooge reminded people that Christmas was traditionally a time when the wealthy folk shared with the poorer people. In fact, Dickens was very concerned with the conditions of poor people in England at a time when the gap between the rich and the poor was getting wider and wider. Many of his books deal with this theme, and he became a Unitarian because, as he said, they “would do something for human improvement if they could; and practice charity and toleration."
If you want to read the whole story of A Christmas Carol for yourself, you can find it online here. Just click on the picture of a book to open the cover and start reading. |
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Act!
The winter holidays are known as the season of giving. But all too often we think about this time as the season of getting. Now, getting presents is certainly fun (as is giving them), but this is also a good time of year to think about how we can give back to the world. Perhaps this year you’d like to ask a relative who would ordinarily give you a present to give the money they were going to spend on you to a cause you care about.
There are countless great organizations that help people, animals and the planet. For instance, you can look at Heifer Project International to learn about how you can make life better for a family or a whole village through the gift of farm animals from chickens to water buffalo. Or check out how the Nature Conservancy is working to preserve natural places. There is still tremendous need to help out the families devastated by cyclone in Bangladesh, and UNICEF helps out children in that area and around the world. And, of course, there is the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, our own UU organization that works in partnership with local organizations around the world to help people gain basic human rights and recover from disasters. The list of great organization goes on and on, and you may want to choose something in your own community to put your helping closer to home. |
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Nurturing Your Spirit
Did you know that smell is the sense most closely related to memory? That might explain why, for many of us, our holiday memories that stand out most vividly are things like the tangy scent of a pine tree, the whiff of smoke as the Hannukah candles burn out, or the warm fragrance of cookies baking or potato latkes frying. This holiday season you can nurture your spirit by paying extra attention to the smells around you, taking the time to notice and appreciate them. What does it smell like when you step outside on a cold night? If you decorate your home with a Christmas tree or evergreen boughs how does the smell add to your sense of celebration? If you shop for a Christmas tree can you smell the difference between a fir, a spruce and a pine? If you light candles for Hannukah or Kwanzaa, does the burnt out match smell different from the burning candles? Can you recognize your favorite holiday foods as they cook from just the smell?
Remember, one of the simplest and oldest spiritual practices is to simply pay attention to your breathing. This holiday season, remember to breathe, and then remember to notice the scents you breathe in which are building your memories. |
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Practicing the Principles
Our sixth Unitarian Universalist principle is “The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.” Somehow that sounds just a bit like the “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” (and we would add, women) that the angels sing out in the Christmas story. You might want to put yourself in touch with a sense of world community this month by having a look at how people around the world celebrate the winter holidays. You can find out about Christmas celebrations all over the world, tour Hannukah menorah lightings around the globe, or learn how people in different times and places have celebrated the winter solstice. Whatever the location, and whatever the religion, people all over the world love to come together as families and as communities to celebrate – you can count on us all having that in common!
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