Calendar of Joyful December Holidays

If you know of, or celebrate, other joyful / spiritual December holidays, please comment below or send us an email. Thankz!

Dec 3rd – Feast of Fauna, Feast of Animals
A special day to honor and pamper the animals in our lives (as if they needed a special day. )
Also a day to be kind to our wild non-human neighbors and make space in our hearts and on this planet for them to live. This might be a good day to donate some time, food or money to your local animal shelter.

Dec 5th – 6th Saint Nicholas Eve, Saint Nicholas Day
St. Nicholas (Saint Nikolaos, San Nikklaus, Sinterklaas, Sint Nicolaas, Sint Nikolaas; Saint Nicolas, Sankt Nikolaus) lived in Western Europe and Turkey in the the 4th century. He is the model for the modern day Santa Claus / Father Christmas / Père Noel.
He was known for his generosity and kindness to children and to the poor. It is told that he came by people’s houses late at night when all were asleep and left coins, toys and other gifts in the shoes that had been left outside on the stoop. Other legends have him tossing gifts of food and money into the houses of the poor through open windows.
In some stories, Saint Nicholas travels on a donkey named Mistletoe. On the evening of December 5th, children leave out shoes filled with hay and carrots for St. Nicholas’s donkey. In the morning, they may find that the hay is gone, and in its place is a tangerine, candy cane, nuts or chocolate “coins” wrapped in gold foil.
In the spirit of St. Nicholas, many people give anonymously to help others on the night of December 5th.

Dec 8th Bodhi Day / Pali
This is the Buddhist holiday commemorating the day that Siddhartha Gautauma / Shakyamuni / the Buddha experienced enlightenment. According to tradition, Siddhartha resolved to sit under a sacred fig tree and meditate until he experienced inner liberation. As the morning star (Venus) rose above the horizon, he received his answers and found enlightenment. Pali is often celebrated by staying up all night in meditation and reading teachings of the Buddha. Because Venus rises in the early evening in December in North America, many people use dawn, and the rising of the sun on December 8th to celebrate this event. Then, the day of December 8th (and hopefully each day after) is a day to exemplify the Buddha nature, expressing loving kindness to all.

Dec 8th  Hari Kuyo
This is an interesting one. Hari Kuyo is also sometimes celebrated in February or incorporated into a celebration of “women’s crafts” on Dec. 2nd. It is a Japanese ceremony for tailors, seamstresses and anyone who sews. A shrine is set up in the Shinto style, with a sacred rope and strips of white paper suspended over a three-tiered altar. On the top tier are offerings of cake and fruit, on the second tier there is a pan of tofu, and the bottom tier is for placing scissors and thimbles. People insert their broken or bent needles into the tofu releasing them while offering thanks to the needles for their years of good service. Afterwards, the needles are wrapped in paper and laid to rest.
Whether in the garage, kitchen, or studio, this might be a good day to have a releasing ceremony for any of those old tools that no longer serve you.

9th – 10th Festival of Rumi
Some communities celebrate the festival of Rumi in October. Others in December. Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi was a 13th-century Sufi mystic and poet whose words and wisdom ring true today. He was know for building bridges among the various Jewish, Christian and Muslim sects of his time, and teaching Love, Peace, kindness, tolerance and joy, and for stressing the importance of a personal relationship with the Divine. Thanks to the work of scholars, English translations of Rumi’s spiritual poetry are readily available in most bookstores.
Check with your local Sufi community and see if they are holding a Universal Dance of Peace or poetry reading this weekend.
“Be concentrated and leonine in the hunt for what is your true nourishment.” – Rumi

10th Full moon lunar eclipse (and Emily Dickinson’s birthday)
If you live in Asia or Australia, you should have a great view of the lunar eclipse.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul… ” Emily Dickinson

12th  Fiesta de Nuestro Senora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) / Coatlaxopeuh (pronounced “quatlachupe”)
This Catholic fiesta commemorates a vision Juan Diego had of of the Virgin Mary / La Virgen Moreno in December 1531 near what is now Mexico City. The fiesta is often celebrated with a procession of a statue of Mary, prayers, hymns and dancing, followed by fireworks and a large feast at which all are welcome and served their fill.

12th Coatlique / Coatlicue Day
A celebration of the Mother image of God. Coatlique is the Aztec Divine Mother image that predates the arrival of the Spanish and Catholicism in Mexico. Often celebrated by wearing white and / or carrying white feathers.

13th  Santa Lucia Day
Santa Lucia brought food to the hungry at night. The legend is that she wore a crown of candles upon her head so that she could see her way in the dark, find persecuted people who were hiding, and have her hands free to carry large amounts of food. In some traditions, the eldest daughter in the family dresses in white and wears a crown of 7 (battery-powered) candles upon her head and serves coffee or eggnog and St. Lucia crown cake, St. Lucia wreath bread, saffron rolls or ginger cookies to everyone gathered at the house. In other traditions, a wreath with seven candles is placed on the table, and family and friends gather ’round for a meal of cuccia (wheat berries).
On Saint Lucy’s Day eve, children put out food to be given to the poor. Santa Lucia takes the food to feed the hungry and leaves gifts for the good children. As with St. Nicholas, Lucia seems to enjoy leaving gifts in people’s shoes. This is a festival about bringing light to darkness and feeding the hungry. What a great day to donate food or money to your local food bank.

14th Spider Woman Day
A day to honor creativity and the art of weaving, literally and figuratively.

16th  Beethoven’s Birthday
Sing  “Ode to Joy” or play it on a musical instrument. If you feel unable to do either, there are free downloads of Ode to Joy on the internet, and many phones also offer it as a ring tone.   Many communities offer free or benefit concerts to celebrate Beethoven’s Birthday.

16th – 24th  La(s) Posada(s)
This 9-day Latin festival is sometimes shortened to just one day. Children dress up like Mary & Joseph and others follow in a procession where they go through a village or neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for lodging. At each home, they are turned away. Eventually, they knock on the door of the designated host house and all are welcomed. A crèche / nativity scene is set up, Christmas songs are sung, and there is a feast afterwards.
Los Pastores (the shepherds) is a Mexican nativity tradition that is sometimes added to the Las Posadas festivities. It can also be celebrated on its own. Instead of focusing on Mary & Joseph, Los Pastores enacts the nativity from the view point of the shepherds.

21st  Yalda
This is a Persian festival celebrating the triumph of goodness & Light.
Don’t know much more about it than that. Anyone out there care to share?

21st – 22nd Solstice
A time for celebrating the change of seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is a celebration of the return of the Light, as the days begin to grow longer again beginning on the 22nd. In many cultures, dawn on December 22nd marks the beginning of a new year.
There are so very many traditions all over the globe surrounding this natural progression of the seasons. One of my favourites is the Yule Log. If you have a fireplace or can have an outdoor fire, this a fun tradition. Start with a log. Then make representations of what you want to create in the coming year. You can carve these into the log with a knife or sculpt them out of warm wax and attach them to the log with melted wax. Some people leave short branches on their log and tie notes or pictures to the branches. The idea is to release the old and consciously choose the new. Then you burn your Yule log, seeing the smoke rising as a form of prayer or intention.

 21st – 25th  Pancha Ganapati /  Solstice Festival of Ganesha
This is a five-day Hindu festival of new beginnings, Love, arts & culture.
There are large public festivals for Ganesha usually in August or September, called Ganesh Chaturthi.
Unlike that celebration, this festival happens at Solstice and is more centered around the home. During each of the five days of Pancha Ganapati, a special spiritual discipline is focused upon by the entire family. The festival is important as a new beginning and mending of all past mistakes,
The first day of Pancha Ganapati is to create a vibration of love and harmony in the home, among immediate family members.
Day two is devoted to creating a vibration of love and harmony among neighbors, relatives and close friends and presenting them with heartfelt gifts. The focus of the day is to offer apologies and clear up any misunderstandings that exist.
The focus of the third day (Dec 23rd) is to create a vibration of love and harmony among business associates, merchants, vendors and the public at large. This is the day for presenting gifts to fellow workers and customers and to honor employers and employees with gifts and appreciation
Day four is to draw forth the vibration of joy and harmony that comes from music, art, theatre and dance. Family and friends gather to share and enjoy their artistic gifts
The final day is to bring forth love and harmony within all three worlds. Because of the tasks well-performed during the first four days, the family is now more open and aware of Ganesha’s grace, and their love is now overflowing. On this day the entire family experiences an outpouring of love and tranquility. Ganesha’s blessings fill the home and the hearts of everyone within it, inspiring them anew for the coming year.

 21st – 28th Chanuka / Chanukah / Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights
This is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century.
According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet the lamp burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An 8-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle. Modern menorahs are candle holders with 8 equal branches, often with a separate 9th branch to hold the shamash, the candle used to light the other candles. Each night, an additional candle is lit, and traditional prayers are said or sung.
The last day of Hanukkah is known as Zot Hanukkah. It is considered a time to change your ways out of Love for God. In this spirit, some recite the traditional blessing  Gmar chatimah tovah – “May you be sealed totally for good.”

24th Christmas Eve
Many Christian traditions celebrate the birth of baby Jesus as God incarnate on Christmas Eve. Because there was no room in the inn, Jesus was born in a stable and his bed was a manger. The animals were the first beings other than his parents and the angels, to see and adore him. him. Because of this, some believe that animals are given the gift of speech for a moment at midnight on Christmas Eve. Some traditions give domestic animals a special treat on Christmas Eve.
At the birth of Jesus, a bright star appeared in the sky above the stable guiding local shepherds and later distant wise men or kings (January 6th) to the place where the baby lay. This is a great night to celebrate the birth of Divinity in human form, rejoice in innocence, and welcome more Light into the world.

25th  Christmas
This is the traditional day Christians celebrate the birth of God in the human form of baby Jesus. You can read the Christmas story in the Christian Bible, in the book of Luke, Chapter 2
For some Christians, the birth of Jesus represents the forgiveness of sins. For other sects, the Christmas story represents the desire of God to live within each and every person. For all Christians, the birth of Jesus is seen as a gift of Love to humanity. The name Emmanuel / Immanuel is often translated as God with us.

26th  Boxing Day / St. Stephen’s Day / Wren’s Day
This another holiday of giving food and clothing to those less fortunate.
St. Stephen’s Day can also be celebrated on December 27th and January 9th.

26 – Jan 1 Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa began as an African-American holiday with it’s origins in African harvest festivals. It is now celebrated by people across the globe. Each day of Kwanzaa, the family focuses on a different spiritual principle.
Each day a candle is lit in the kinara, the Kwanzaa candle holder, which holds 3 red candles on the left, 3 green candles on the right, and a single black candle in the center. The center candle is lit first.
Like most holidays, the traditions observed at Kwanzaa can vary greatly. Some incorporate gift giving into the celebration, and some like to focus on the more spiritual aspects of the holiday. Kwanzaa celebrations usually include feasting and music. The overall focus is to renew one’s inner strength and to commit that strength to doing good, helping others and leaving behind a better world than the world we inherited.
These are the 7 principles:
Day 1 – Unity (Umoja)
Day 2 – Self-determination, and honest, uplifting self-expression (Kujichagulia)
Day 3 – Collective work and problem solving, and shared responsibility (Ujima)
Day 4 – Family, and  cooperative / collaborative economics (Ujamaa)
Day 5 – Purpose (Nia)
Day 6 – Creativity (Kuumba)
Day 7 – Faith (Imani)

If you know of other joyful December holidays, please share below.

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