Silver bells, red holly berries, white lights and green trees all start appearing around the first of December, taking their place alongside crèches, menorahs and other sacred images.
December is a month filled with religious observances. Many are related to Christmas, the day Christians celebrate the birth of Christ.
But others are from different religions and cultures. In short, December offers something for just about everyone. Even sun worshippers can have their day in the sun — make that a week.
The annual Winter Solstice Sadhana Celebration will be held Dec. 18-24 at the Circle F Dude Ranch in Lake Wales, Fla. Forget about roast turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, though. Menu items include yogi tea with soy milk, steamed beets and celery, among other holiday delights.
More familiar holidays include the Feast Day of St. Nicolas on Tuesday, the commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights on Dec. 20, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and Watch Night on Dec. 31, a tradition in African-American culture thanking God for bringing people safely through another year and asking his blessing for the coming year.
In some Christian traditions, the anticipation of Christmas actually begins in November with the season of Advent, which is Latin for "the coming." Advent began Nov. 27 in Western Christian churches and Nov. 15 in Orthodox churches.
"It is a time of fasting, almsgiving, reconciliation and other spiritual disciplines that help us prepare to welcome and receive Christ at Christmas," said Philip LeMasters, professor of religion at McMurry University and a priest at St. Luke Orthodox Church.
Advent is a solemn time of preparation, but occurring in the midst of it is the more festive Feast of St. Nicolas, the celebration of the patron saint of children and role model for gift giving.
"He's a much-loved and honored saint in the Orthodoxy and is commemorated regularly in the services of the Orthodox Church," LeMasters wrote in an email.
He's also much-loved by children everywhere and is the most highly anticipated visitor to households worldwide on Christmas Eve. Various stories are associated with St. Nicolas, but they all originated with Nicolas, the bishop of Myra in Lycia, who died Dec. 6 in either 345 or 352.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "there is scarcely anything historically certain about him except that he was bishop of Myra in the fourth century." The encyclopedia states that the tradition of Nicolas being behind those secret Christmas gifts developed in christmas flowers germany , Switzerland and the Netherlands.
St. Nicolas' background isn't the only thing lacking certainty when it comes to christmas flowers germany blog and other religious traditions.
A glance across the major world religions shows connections to natural transitions, including seasons of the year, noted David Kneip, who teaches church history at Abilene Christian University.
That is certainly true with religious observances in December as fall gives way to winter or the winter solstice, which varies from Dec. 20-23. This year, winter begins on Dec. 22.
That also helps explains all the lights associated with December religious holidays — the first day of winter is the day with the shortest amount of sunlight.
That doesn't explain all the reasons for the use of light as a religious symbol, of course, even in December.
The Jewish observance of Hanukkah, which begins at sundown Dec. 20, is known as the Festival of Lights. It's not because of the December date but refers to the origin of the observance, which is based on the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple in 165-164 B.C.
The story tells of the miraculous oil lamp that burned for eight days when it was filled with oil sufficient for only one day. A major symbol of Hanukkah is the eight-candle menorah.
In Christian tradition, the light represents Jesus, "the light of the world." The Christ Candle is set in the middle of an Advent wreath and is surrounded by four candles, one for each week leading to Christmas. The lighting of the Christ Candle marks the birth of Christ.
The date that Christmas is celebrated — Dec. 25 — wasn't standardized by the church until the fourth century when the bishop of Rome declared it.
The reason most cited is that the date coincides with the pagan festival that celebrated the birth of the unconquered sun. But Kneip, who teaches worship and early Christianity at ACU, said there is disagreement among scholars over whether the date was chosen to counteract the pagan festival.
He noted that in the third century when the "unconquered sun" festival was celebrated, something else was taking place in the Roman Empire.
"That's right about the time that Christianity was growing exponentially," he said.
The disagreement is over which came first — Christians' celebrating Jesus' birth on Dec. 25, or the festival of the unconquered sun.
"There are reputable scholars on both sides of that argument," Kneip said. "It really could have gone either way."
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