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| Robert Dilenschneider |
The holiday season for 2025 will be especially long and joyful, since the three major observances — Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa — come in almost perfect sequence.
Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 14th, a Sunday, and ends at sundown on Monday, the 22nd. Christmas, of course, falls on the 25th, Thursday of that same week. And the seven days of Kwanzaa begin the next day, Friday the 26th, and continue through January 1st, New Year's Day! A lot of joy contained in an almost three-week period.
In this holiday season, let us all remember the surest way to overcome the name-calling, mistrust and entrenched divisions which now trouble our nation, and the world is for each of us to exercise civility in our daily lives. Each of us has the power — and the obligation — to help build a culture of respect in our families, our workplaces and our civic institutions. Showing respect to others is the best way to gain the respect of others and bring us closer together.
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There are many special things about these three holidays. Here are some fun facts about each of them:
● The tradition of putting up Christmas trees traces back to the ancient Romans, who displayed evergreens after the winter solstice to reassure a shivering populace that spring would eventually return.
● The English-speaking world adopted indoor Christmas trees after Prince Albert of Germany, in keeping with German tradition, set up a tree in 1840 in Windsor Castle for his wife, Queen Victoria, and their children.
● In the years which followed, the practice was happily embraced by Americans. The tradition was given a special lift by Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas, first published in 1823 — in particular, the image of a jolly Santa Claus and his flying sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer. (Rudolph didn't become the ninth until more than a century later.)
● Hanukkah — which derives from the ancient Hebrew word for “dedication” — commemorates the triumph of a band of rebel Jews known as the Maccabees in reclaiming the temple in Jerusalem from the Greek-Syrians in 164 B.C.
● The temple required a light to burn at all times. The Maccabees lacked enough oil for that — yet miraculously, the lamp burned for eight nights. Thus, the eight days of Hanukkah when the eight candles of a Menorah are lit one day at a time by a ninth candle placed in the center.
● Kwanzaa is an American-created, African-inspired holiday. It was introduced in 1966 to honor both black unity and traditional African values with the name derived from the Swahili word for “first.”
● The seven days of Kwanzaa are always celebrated beginning the day after Christmas and ending on New Year’s Day. But it is a cultural, not a religious celebration. As with Christmas and Hanukkah, gifts are given, part of the fun of all three great holidays.
Enjoy the season and let us in a renewed spirit of respectfulness keep Peace on Earth and Good Will To All.
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Robert L. Dilenschneider is the Founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, an international communications firm.
Our nation now faces many challenges, not the least of which are the troubling divisions along political, social and economic lines. We are fortunate, therefore, to have Thanksgiving to bring us together.
Events in the last month have revealed stunning displays of hypocrisy among the left and the right, demonstrating that both groups are now caricatures of themselves operating outside of reality.
