Quick summary:
The winter months are ripe with festive occasions all around the world — and many of them place light at the center. Today, we’re taking a moment to appreciate the rich singularity and unity of global celebration, from candle-lighting rituals to floating lanterns and more.
Hey, y’all,
Holidays and meaningful celebrations are on full display as the year winds down — and no, not just Christmas. Between different cultures, religions, and individual families around the world, there are untold numbers of unique traditions and rituals marking the season.
This abundance is vast, and the contrasts are stark. Yet there is something many winter celebrations have in common, a throughline that forms a base layer for further significance: light.
Or rather, the absence of light. As the year wanes and loved ones draw near, there seems to be something innate across different celebrations taking place before or after the winter solstice. We acknowledge the sun’s departure, and we wait for its return, while light-based rituals become focal points of our traditions.
It’s not an exact science, as different calendars place their holidays at different dates, but let’s connect a few of these occasions that typically happen during the cold, dark days, and explore how the theme of light is treated during each.
Just passed:
- Name: Karthigai Deepam, December 13, 2024
Significance: Diwali, which passed in October, is a central festival of light in India. It also kicks off a run of other holidays, one being Karthigai Deepam. This Hindu celebration, especially important to Tamil people in Southern India and Sri Lanka, honors Lord Shiva’s appearance as a pillar of fire.
Rituals of light: The holiday’s focal point is the lighting of a large beacon in the hills that represents Shiva’s presence. Smaller clay candles called diyas also fill the streets, temples, and homes. They signify the triumph of knowledge and enlightenment over darkness and ignorance, and are often displayed in dazzling patterns, The Times of India reports.
- Name: Tazaungdaing, November 15, 2024
Significance: This Buddhist hot-air balloon festival takes place in Taunggyi, Myanmar. It marks the end of the rainy season, and the pagoda and animal-themed balloons are meant to guide the Buddha back down to earth as he returns from three months in heaven, according to the Mekong Tourism Ministry.
Rituals of light: The balloons become illuminated beacons in the sky, and attendees also light candles and fireworks.
- Name: Loy Krathong, November 15, 2024
Significance: This iconic Thai celebration involves floating illuminated krathongs — small boats made of banana stalks and leaves — down bodies of water. For many, the festival honors the goddess of water, and each krathong is an offering to her, Thailand Foundation explains.
Rituals of light: Before releasing their krathong to the water, it is common to light its candle and incense, bring it to one’s forehead and speak of gratitude and wishes for the future. Other regional variations exist, such as in Northern Thailand where releasing sky lanterns is the main event.
Coming up:
- Name: Northern Hemisphere winter solstice, December 21, 2024
Significance: The astronomical event marks the longest night of the year, and an inflection point between the days growing shorter versus longer.
Rituals of light: Though it is a religious occasion for some, such as in Paganism, the winter solstice is also observed far and wide in secular ways. Traditions include gathering in community, watching the sunset, and making space for reflection and intention setting, according to The Seattle Times.
- Name: Christmas, December 25, 2024
Significance: A spin-off from the Pagan solstice festival, the now-Christian holiday of Christmas honors the birth of Jesus.
Rituals of light: Holiday lights are a mainstay of Christmas, from decorating the tree to public spaces. However, celebrating with light means something more to some, such as in Norway, which has an intensely long and dark winter. There, bright-white lights blanket the streets and homes all throughout the country.
- Name: Hanukkah, December 25, 2024 – January 2, 2025
Significance: The eight-day celebration commemorates when the Jewish people reclaimed a desecrated temple. Only enough oil for a single day was found in it, but it burned for eight, hence the belief in a miracle that created the holiday known today. Interestingly, no gifts were traditionally given on Hanukkah — that is because of its proximity to Christmas.
Rituals of light: The fixture of Hanukkah is the lighting of one candle on the menorah each night and saying a blessing. Other traditions include eating latkes, a type of potato pancake, and playing dreidel, a game of chance.
- Name: Kwanzaa, December 26, 2024 – January 1, 2025
Significance: This non-religious cultural holiday celebrates the Black community in the United States. Created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966 following the Los Angeles Watts riots, the holiday draws inspiration from several African “first fruit” celebrations.
Rituals of light: A focal point of the week-long holiday is lighting a candle every night. There is one black candle representing the people, three red ones for struggle, and three green ones for liberation. When lit, each candle centers a unique principle: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- Name: Yuánxiāo Jié / Shang Yuan Jie, February 12, 2025
Significance: This holiday comes at the end of the Chinese New Year celebration. Also known as the Lantern Festival, colorful lanterns help mark the transition from the past to a new year, along with parades, dance and music performances, and sweet dumplings, according to the Chinese Language Institute.
Rituals of light: Making and lighting lanterns, either to hold by hand or suspend in air, is an essential tradition of this holiday, which has roots in Buddhism. Some look like animals or objects while others are more minimal. Writing riddles on them for people to solve is also common.
- Name: Northern Lights Festival, March 21 – 30, 2025
Significance: This celebration of the aurora borealis in Fort Nelson, Canada is centered on witnessing the natural phenomenon, and honors indigenous artists and culture in the region.
Rituals of light: Observing the northern lights is the main event, accompanied by live music and dance performances, bonfires, and dog sledding.
- Name: Eid al-Fitr, March 30 or 31, 2025
Significance: For the first time in over two decades, the Islamic holy days of Ramadan will begin in the winter. The month-long fast is a time of immense reflection, and Eid al-Fitr celebrates its culmination.
Rituals of light: Setting the backdrop of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are lanterns called “fanous” in Arabic. Lighting them is an important tradition that has come to symbolize hope and compassion, offering a source of comfort to Muslims during the holiday, Eid Party explains.
This list was organized by winter celebrations around the world that have either passed recently or are on the near horizon, which limited it to the Northern Hemisphere.
However, there are just as many festivals of light during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, such as the Andean celebration Inti Raymi. Learn more here.
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