Christmas: 24 hours out of the entire year that define an entire season. After Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the festive season truly picks up in full swing as people around the country hang up their house lights and decorate their Christmas trees. Although the major holiday doesn’t really occur until the eve of December 25th, the Christmas spirit sweeps over the U.S. beginning in mid-October; Christmas music is already heard on the radio and the Christmas trees of some families can be seen through the window before Halloween has even passed.

While recent controversies such as the Starbucks red cup design and “Christmas break” being changed to “winter break” have sparked tension throughout the community, these changes have been made for good reason. Interestingly enough, Christmas isn’t the only holiday to occur in the month of December; in fact, it’s just one of many. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are both two holidays that occur during this time of year too:

Hanukkah: A relatively minor event in the spectrum of Jewish holidays, Hanukkah is an eight-day festival of lights, celebrating a military victory and the re-dedication of the holy temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd century BCE. For each night, a candle is lit on a menorah to signify that the oil they thought was going to last for only 1 night, actually lasted for 8, which is how the length of the holiday began. Traditional foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) are shared among friends and family while playing dreidel, a simple spinning top game. Gifts are not commonly exchanged on Hanukkah in other cultures, but due to the influence of Christmas in the United States specifically, Hanukkah has become a time to share gifts and rejoice in the spirit of giving too. Because the Jewish calendar revolves around the lunar cycle instead of the solar one, the Jewish months and secular months often don’t align, accounting for the instability of a specific date for the holiday. This year, the holiday begins at sundown on Sunday, December 6 and concludes in the evening of Monday, December 14.

Kwanzaa: Beginning December 26 and lasting for seven days, this traditional African-American celebration brings together family, community, and culture while reinforcing a different value each day: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Although not commonly celebrated in the U.S., the tradition was created by Maulana Karenga in 1965 specifically to promote African American heritage and pride. Similar to a menorah for Hanukkah, candles are lit for each of the seven nights. Only 1.6% of the U.S. population is estimated to observe Kwanzaa, but the pride that the holiday embodies aids in boosting the lasting holiday spirit.

Regardless of what holiday students are celebrating, though, everyone has unique traditions that they share with their friends and family. Lucy Guiberson, a Junior on the diving team, shares: “We always get pizza on Christmas Eve and have cinnamon rolls in the morning. We also read The Night Before Christmas and a story from the bible, and we watch Christmas Vacation.”

Hadleigh Swarts, a Senior, says: “We have family dinner around the menorahs with traditional Hanukkah foods like latkes and sufganiyot. Sometimes it’s difficult to fully embrace the holiday because Hanukkah often doesn’t fall over winter break. Even if we are not able to make time for dinner, we always make time to light the menorah as a family and exchange gifts with each other each night.”

The incredible thing about December and “the most wonderful time of the year” is that communities come together in the spirit of love. Happiness and kindness are common characteristics during this season because of the giving nature that tends to envelop the nation, no matter what specific holiday your family comes together for. So whether that means exchanging gifts with friends, donating money or clothes to charity, or just smiling a little wider, December is halfway over, but the spirit is nowhere near close to dying out. So whether you’re lighting up the star at the top of your tree or lighting up candles on your Menorah, the true holiday spirit is about lighting up the people around you. Happy Holidays!