Why people say happy holidays

December truly is the holiday season. Along with Christmas and New Year’s Eve, December is also host to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule and the Feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, just to name a few.

There are unfortunately a lot of people who get upset by the phrase Happy Holidays. I’ve heard people complain that you can’t say Merry Christmas anymore without offending people. I don’t think that’s true. I have never seen anyone react negatively to being told Merry Christmas, whether they celebrate or not.

If someone came up to me and said Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa, I’d say it right back, despite being Christian and white. When someone says Happy Holidays, they’re just trying to be inclusive. You can’t tell what holiday a stranger celebrates just by looking at them, so covering all your bases isn’t a bad thing.

There’s nothing wrong with celebrating your holiday. Sometimes it’s just nice to celebrate with everyone else, too. So, for those that don’t know about these other December holidays, here’s a short recap of each.

Hanukkah

Celebrated this year from Dec. 7 to Dec. 15, the Jewish holiday Hanukkah celebrates the recovery of Jerusalem from Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the 2nd century BC. According to the religious text the Talmud, the Menorah was lit to rededicate the temple. Though only enough oil for one day, the Menorah burned for eight days. Because of this, Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days. A candle on the Menorah is lit for the first day of Hanukkah, with another candle lit each subsequent day.

When celebrating Hanukkah, a number of blessings and prayers may be said with the lighting of the candles. There are a number of other customs used to celebrate. Two popular English songs are “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” and “Oh Chanukah,” though there are many others in Hebrew. In commemoration of the oil used for the Menorah, most foods are fried or baked in oil. Latkes, a type of potato pancake, is most popular. Children receive Hanukkah gelt, which are small coins, both real and chocolate. A symbol of Hanukkah for many is the dreidel, which is customarily spun after lighting the candles.

A four-sided spinning top, a dreidel has a Hebrew letter on each side, forming an acronym which says “a great miracle happened here. Played in a group setting, players start with an equal number of game pieces, often candy of some sort. Players put their pieces into a collective pot, each person either losing or receiving pieces depending on which side of the dreidel they land on.

Kwanzaa

The holiday Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a way to bring together the African American community after a number of riots in Los Angeles. Celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa celebrates African American culture and focuses on Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of African heritage: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

The most well-known symbol of Kwanzaa is the kinara, which means candle holder in Swahili. The seven candles - three red on the left, three green on the right and a single black in the center - represent the seven principles. The center candle is lit first, and a new candle is lit each subsequent day, going from left to right. Celebrants are supposed to dedicate each day of Kwanzaa to one of the seven principles.

To celebrate, families decorate their houses with bright African cloth and fresh fruits. A Karamu Ya Imani, or feast of faith, is usually held on the sixth day of Kwanzaa, Dec. 31. A typical Karamu feast will include music, cultural reflections and drinking from a communal drink called the Unity Cup. Popular food for the feast a one-pot stew, fried okra, gumbo and fried chicken.

Yule

Though now often associated with Christmas, Yule was originally celebrated by the Germanic peoples. Yule celebrates the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and the reappearance of the sun. Yule always begins on the winter solstice. This year, it begins on Dec. 21, lasting until Jan. 1 of the new year.

While Christmas has absorbed many of the traditions, other groups still celebrate it today. Non-religious groups often celebrate with a meal and gift-giving. Many forms of Wicca celebrate Yule as a fire festival, due to the returning of the light, with the rebirth of the god. Altars are decorated with festive winter plants, burn candles and burn a sacred Yule log in the fireplace. Some of the Yule traditions used to celebrate Christmas include the Yule log, though many people now make it out of chocolate. Goats are also heavily associated with Yule, leading to the Scandinavian Santa Claus to be pulled by goats instead of reindeer.

Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as La virgen de Guadalupe, takes place on Dec. 12. According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous man, in Mexico. Appearing to him over a number of days, the most well known part of the story takes place on Dec. 12, 1531. The Virgin Mary tells Juan to build a church in her honor at the location she appears to him.

In order to provide proof that she appeared, Juan goes to the top of a normally barren hill and finds Castillian roses, which are not native to Mexico. The Virgin Mary arranges the flowers in Juan’s cloak, and later when Juan shows the Archbishop the flowers, the fabric holds the image of the Virgin Mary. A church was built to her there and is now known as La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. The cloak is kept there, seen by about 20 million pilgrims every year. La virgen de Guadalupe is generally considered the symbol of Mexico.