Light in Action: How Modern Celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Solstice Move Us Beyond Spectatorship
Active Holiday Celebrations: Finding Meaning
Through Participation in Winter's Festivals
Beyond the Spectator
Season
For many, the winter holiday
season can feel like a marathon of consumption and observation: scrolling
through perfect social media feeds, attending parties, or simply watching from
the sidelines. But beneath the glittering surface of December lies a powerful,
often overlooked truth: our oldest winter festivals weren’t meant to be
watched. They were meant to be done. They are, at their hearts, active holiday
celebrations—rituals of light, reflection, community, and resilience designed
to be enacted, not just witnessed.
This year, let’s explore how Christmas Eve and Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the winter solstice invite us off the couch and into a more participatory, meaningful experience. We’ll discover that the true warmth of the season doesn't just come from a fireplace, but from the active sparks we create together.
The Active Pulse of Winter Rituals: Why
Participation Matters
Historically, winter festivals
were acts of collective defiance against the longest nights and coldest days.
They were psychological and spiritual tools for a community to affirm, “We are
still here, and we will endure.” Passivity in the face of metaphorical darkness
wasn’t an option. This innate need for active engagement is backed by
psychology. Dr. Amit Kumar, a researcher in happiness and rituals, notes that
“engaging in rituals can make experiences feel more meaningful… they involve a
kind of doing that signals importance.”
An active holiday celebration shifts the focus from what you get to what you do and who you do it with. It transforms stress into purpose and isolation into connection.
Christmas Eve & Day: Recapturing the “Doing”
For all its commercial magnitude,
the core of Christmas remains rich with actionable traditions that build
anticipation and connection.
·
Christmas
Eve as Active Preparation: This isn’t just the night before; it’s a
ceremony in itself. In many cultures, the act of preparing the Christmas Eve
feast—like the Polish Wigilia or Italian La Vigilia—is a family project, often
meatless and centered on shared labor. The ritual of hanging stockings or setting
out milk and cookies is a small, tangible act of generosity and imagination,
especially when done with children. For many, attending a Midnight Mass or
Candlelight Service is the ultimate active participation—singing hymns,
lighting candles in unison, and physically stepping into a space of communal
reflection.
·
Christmas
Day: The Gift of Presence: The active shift here is moving beyond the
exchange of objects to the exchange of experiences. This could mean:
o
Instituting a “one gift, one experience” rule.
o
Making giving back a family activity:
volunteering at a community kitchen together.
o
Starting a collaborative activity: a family
hike, a massive puzzle, or a cookie-decorating station where the doing is the
main event.
The magic of Christmas actively kindled is less about the perfect present and more about the presence required to build a tradition.
Hanukkah: The Quintessential Active Festival
Hanukkah is arguably a
masterclass in active celebration. Its central rituals are hands-on,
incremental, and home-based, turning every household into a stage for a story
of resilience.
·
The
Mitzvah of Lighting the Menorah: This is the cornerstone. It’s not
decorative; it’s a prescribed, nightly act (mitzvah). Each evening, the family
gathers as one more candle is lit—from left to right, but with the newest
candle lit first by the shamash (helper candle). The action is deliberate and
symbolic, physically pushing back darkness with increasing light. According to
a Pew Research study, 70% of Jewish Americans report lighting a menorah, making
it one of the most observed Jewish rituals.
·
Playing
Dreidel: A Game with a History: Spinning the dreidel isn’t just child’s
play. It’s an active remembrance of a time when Jews, forbidden from studying
Torah, would hide their books and play with spinning tops to disguise their
learning. The game is a physical link to that history of covert perseverance.
· Making Foods in Oil: Frying latkes (potato pancakes) or sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) is a delicious, sensory-driven lesson. The oil sizzles in the pan, directly connecting to the miracle of the Temple oil that burned for eight days. You taste the story you are celebrating.
Kwanzaa: A Week of Purposeful Principle-in-Action
Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana
Karenga, Kwanzaa is a modern, cultural holiday that is inherently active. Its
very structure—seven days, each dedicated to a principle (Nguzo Saba)—demands
daily reflection and engagement.
·
The Daily
Ritual: Each evening, the family gathers to light one of the seven candles
on the Kinara (candleholder), discuss the principle of the day (e.g.,
Umoja/Unity, Kujichagulia/Self-Determination), and share how they can embody
it. This is active dialogue, not passive reception.
· Tangible Symbols: The celebration involves arranging symbols like mazao (crops), mkeka (mat), and vibunzi (ears of corn). These aren’t just displayed; they are handled, discussed, and used to frame the feast (Karamu) on December 31st, which is itself an active celebration of community and cultural heritage.
Winter Solstice: The Original Active Holiday
Long before other holidays,
humans actively marked the solstice. It is the ultimate astronomical turning
point—the shortest day, after which light begins its return.
·
Ancient
Actions: From Neolithic people building monuments like Newgrange in Ireland
(designed to flood with solstice light) to Norse peoples burning Yule logs to
symbolize the sun’s return, these were massive communal acts of faith and
science.
·
Modern
Active Observance: Today, you can actively honor the solstice by:
o
Creating
a Yule Altar: Gather evergreen boughs, pinecones, candles, and symbols of
what you wish to “seed” in the coming light.
o
Holding a
Silence or Release Ritual: Spend the long night in reflection, writing down
what you wish to let go of (fears, regrets) and burning the paper safely.
o Greeting the Dawn: Make a plan to wake up and watch the sunrise on the morning of the 22nd, actively welcoming the incremental return of the light.
CONCLUSION: WEAVING YOUR OWN ACTIVITY TAPESTRY
The common thread through
Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the solstice isn’t just light—it’s the action
of kindling. Whether it’s lighting a candle, frying a latke, discussing a
principle, or greeting the sun, we are participating in an ancient, human
dialogue with darkness.
This season, challenge yourself
to shift from spectator to participant. Choose one tradition from any of these
celebrations and do it with intention. Mix and match—perhaps a solstice reflection
on Christmas Eve, or the principle of Ujima (Collective Work and
Responsibility) applied to your New Year’s goals. The most meaningful holiday
celebration is not the most perfect or expensive one; it’s the one where you
actively roll up your sleeves, gather your people, and add your own light to
the collective glow. That is where the true warmth is found.