Submitted by Cape Coral resident Dennis Gingerich

It’s a wonderful time of the year! It’s the holiday season. The music is playing. The days are cooler. The holiday decoration section in every store is packed full. Residents in Cape Coral are putting up lights and seasonal décor.  Depending on your ethnic, cultural and religious heritage, you may be celebrating one of three holidays this time of year – Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa is the newest holiday celebration. It’s a week-long celebration held in the United States and Canada that honors African-American heritage and culture observed December 26 to January 1 each year.  The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits of the harvest.”

Kwanzaa is dedicated to seven principles of African heritage: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of colorful African art and fresh fruit.  Candle-lighting, music, artistic performance, a feast and gift-giving of heritage symbols are components of the Kwanzaa celebration. To explore more, you can go to www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.

Hanukkah is the oldest holiday celebration. Also known as the Festival of Lights, this Jewish holiday started in 165 BC. Since this celebration is based on the Hebrew calendar, it may occur at any time from late November to late December. This year, Hanukkah is December 24 through January 1.

The Festival of Lights is observed by sequentially lighting each of the nine-branched candelabrum, (Menorah) over the eight day period. The ninth additional raised light branch is given a distinct location as an extra attendant light available to be used for other purposes.

Hanukkah is a family-based holiday celebrated in the home and synagogue.  In addition to lighting the candles, story telling, reciting of Psalms, singing songs and sharing traditional foods such as potato pancakes is mixed with gift-giving for children and playing with the dreidel—a four-sided spinning top. To learn more, go to websites like www.jewfaq.org or inquire at a local synagogue.

Christmas is likely the most celebrated holiday of the three. The word literally means Christ’s Mass. It is an annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, generally on December 25. In modern culture, it is an eclectic mix of both religious and cultural elements.

In Cape Coral and around the world, Christmas will be celebrated with decorated trees, elaborate light displays, nativity scenes, mistletoe, Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas music and caroling. Because gift-giving is at the core of the celebration, the Christmas season is an economic engine for retailers and businesses. Of course, like the other holiday celebrations, there will be family gatherings, food galore, generosity toward the less fortunate and for some, very deep and meaningful worship of the baby that changed the world.

The common theme in all three traditions is gift-giving and taking time to connect with family and friends in an environment of celebration. Whether you are Jewish, Christian or celebrating Kwanzaa, don’t miss out on the fulfillment of being generous or the delight of connecting with family and friends. Celebrate every chance you get. Reach out to your neighbors. Care for the less fortunate. Understand your heritage and culture better. And, make every effort to go deeper in your faith.

Dennis Gingerich – Husband of Linda 42 yrs., Dad x3, Grandpa x4, Founding Pastor @ Cape Christian, Blogger, Police Chaplain, Cape Coral Resident, and Nature Photographer.

To read Dennis’ blog on topics that inspire transformissional living, go to www.DennisGingerich.com or to see some of his photography from Cape Coral and beyond, go to www.GingerichPhotoArt.com.