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Steven Noble
Editor, Internal Publications
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e-mail: snoble@mtroyal.ca

Fred Cheney
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e-mail: fcheney@mtroyal.ca

 

The snow is falling, carols are playing on the radio, shopping malls are abuzz with activity — it’s unmistakable, the holiday season is upon us.

But as we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it is important to take pause and reflect on how different religions and cultures celebrate Christmas and their holiday traditions.

Mount Royal University chaplains Glen Ryland, Oren Steinitz and Tim Sampson provide insight into some of the holidays regularly celebrated by Canadians in the month of December.

Christian celebrations

“There’s an interesting tension in Christianity around Christmas,” says Christian Chaplain Glen Ryland.

“Aspects of Christmas seem to violate what Christianity and Christmas is supposed to be about, namely the person of Jesus Christ. The dichotomy between the materialism of the celebration and the simplicity of the manger where Christ was born can be difficult for some Christians.”

Mount Royal Christian Chaplain Glen Ryland says the true meaning of Christmas can get lost in the glitter of the season. For Christians, the focus is supposed to be the spirit of giving and the birth of Jesus.

Ryland points out that some Christians choose to ease this tension by celebrating St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6.

Some believe the true story of Santa Claus began with St. Nicholas, who was born during the third century.

St. Nicholas dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day preserving the celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 to mark the birth of Jesus Christ.

Ryland also highlights the season of Advent, another significant theme around Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming.”

“Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, anticipation and preparation,” says Ryland.

“The celebration of Advent re-creates the expectation of Christ coming originally and is woven with the theme of Christ coming back at the end of the world.”

Advent begins the church year, starting four Sundays before Christmas. The progression of lighting candles symbolizes the various aspects of the waiting experience.

“Jesus’ birth is really what Christmas is all about,” says Ryland.

Church traditions involve several services on Christmas Eve, including midnight mass or midnight communion services, followed by services on Christmas Day.

In some Christian denominations, children perform plays re-telling the events of the Nativity, or sing carols that reference the event.

Some Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a Nativity scene or crib, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event.

“Christmas is also a time of fellowship that is tied to ethnic traditions when celebrating with family and friends,” says Ryland.

Ryland’s family is of Norwegian descent and at Christmas time they put Norwegian flags on their Christmas tree and partake in special dishes like lutefisk, which is essentially cod soaked in lye.

“Is that religious? Not really,” he says. “The holiday season is also a time to bring your kids into these family traditions and create memories and a deep sense of belonging.”

Jewish celebration

Oren Steinitz is the Jewish chaplain at the University of Calgary but also serves as a consultant chaplain to Mount Royal students, staff and faculty on matters of faith related to Judaism.

“Chanukah, or Hanukkah — it’s definitely the holiday with the most ways to spell its name — is a Hebrew word meaning dedication,” says Steinitz.

The menorah is tied into the story of an ancient Hebrew rebel victory over the Greeks.

The holiday, which started on the night of Dec. 11 this year, commemorates the re-dedication of the Jerusalem Temple following the victory of the Maccabees, a small Jewish rebel army who led a successful revolt against the Seleucid (Greek) Empire.

According to Jewish tradition, when the Maccabees entered the Temple, they tried to find olive oil to light the eternal flame in the Temple, and only found a small can that was supposed to suffice for one day.

Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight whole days — enough time to press a new batch of olive oil.

In memory of these events, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days, during which candles on a special candelabrum called a menorah are lit every night.

One candle is lit on the first evening, and a candle is added each night for eight nights.

An extra light called a shamash, meaning guard or servant, is also lit each night for the purpose of lighting the others, and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. Special prayers are recited before lighting the candles.

“As the holiday celebrates the miracle of the can of oil, it has become customary to eat fried foods during the eight days of Chanukah,” says Steinitz. Two prominent holiday dishes are latkes — pan fried potato pancakes, and sufganyot — jelly-filled doughnuts.

Many Jewish families also exchange gifts each night during the eight-day holiday, and in many homes it is customary for children to play the dreidel game, a four-sided spinning top toy associated with Hanukkah.

Buddhism celebration and other faiths

Tim Sampson, Multi-Faith Chaplaincy coordinator and Buddhist chaplain at Mount Royal, has been a Soto Zen Buddhist practitioner for 16 years.

Sampson took the precepts during his three years as a resident at the San Francisco Zen Centre and was given monk ordination in Japan in 2004.
“As a Buddhist, Dec. 8 was the most significant day on the Zen calendar,” says Sampson.

Tim Sampson, Mount Royal's Mulit-Faith Chaplaincy coordinator, explains Dec. 8 is the most revered day of the year for Buddhists.

Rohatsu, as the holiday is called, is Japanese for “eighth day of the twelfth month.” Dec. 8 has come to be the day Japanese Buddhists observe the enlightenment of Buddha.

In Japanese Zen monasteries, Rohatsu is the last day of a week-long sesshin.

A sesshin is an intensive meditation retreat in which all of one's waking time is dedicated to meditation. Even when not in the meditation hall, participants endeavour to maintain meditation focus at all times — eating, washing and doing chores. Silence is maintained unless speaking is absolutely necessary.

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which is observed according to the Muslim lunar calendar. Because this calendar has only 354 days, the timing is slightly earlier each year compared to the traditional solar calendar. In 2009 Ramadan started in late August.

The holy text of Islam, the Koran, states that God requires the fast of Ramadan to help believers cultivate piety. Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to Islam's prophet, Muhammad, during this month.

Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach Muslims patience, modesty and spirituality.

At the end of the month, a feast called Eid ul-Fitr, is shared to celebrate the end of the fast. Celebrants dress up, gather with relatives and friends, pray communally and provide for the poor.

“We have a Muslim chaplain and when Ramadan is here he will be observing the holiday and supporting the students in those efforts,” says Sampson.
Uniting threads

“Holidays are great touching stones for diversity,” says Christian Chaplain Ryland.

“These differences shouldn’t be trouble points, they should be points of interest where we can recognize and respect each other’s faith beliefs and learn about different cultures.

“Despite our differences, I think around the holidays we do have a lot of commonalities. No matter what your faith, celebrations really do incorporate a variety of elements involving family, food, faith community and culture.”

— Jondrea De Ruyter, Dec. 17, 2009