The Season is finally here!

Sending all my readers and friends around the world

greetings and  best wishes for the Holidays.

Chanukah celebrations begin this evening around the world.

Children will play the Dreidel game

Menorahs will be lit with candles in remembrance

of the time when Jews regained the Temple

to find that they had only one day’s worth of oil left in the Temple

for the Eternal Flame

And a miracle  let the oil last for eight days

long enough to make more oil 

Presents are given to children for the eight nights the holiday lasts

 Christmas Eve is also tonight and is frequently when families go to candle light

services as a family.

Some open presents on the eve and some on Christmas morn.This 

is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Kwanzaa begins December 26 and runs through January 1                  

The greetings during Kwanzaa are in Swahili. Swahili is a Pan-African language and is chosen to reflect African Americans’ commitment to the whole of Africa and African culture rather than to a specific ethnic or national group or culture. The greetings are to reinforce awareness of and commitment to the Seven Principles. It is: “Habari gani?” and the answer is each of the principles for each of the days of Kwanzaa, i.e., “Umoja”, on the first day, “Kujichagulia”, on the second day and so on.

Gifts are given mainly to children, but must always include a book and a heritage symbol. The book is to emphasize the African value and tradition of learning stressed since ancient Egypt, and the heritage symbol to reaffirm and reinforce the African commitment to tradition and history.

The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red and green as noted above and can be utilized in decorations for Kwanzaa. Also decorations should include traditional African items, i.e., African baskets, cloth patterns, art objects, harvest symbols, etc.

However you celebrate your holiday be blessed

and know you are a part of the family of Man and of God.

We honor all cultures and all paths

Put positive energy into the Universe and the entire World

will Shine with the Light of being connected to each other in Love and Acceptance.

I wish the World a year of PEACE and JOY!

Namaste

Barbara