Pointlife
Diversity of religion reflected on this holiday season
The Pointer
mbaum925@uwsp.edu
“Candles ring, are you listening? In the lane, there is a Prophet, it’s a beautiful sight, folks bowing to the west tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.”
All of you are probably amply confused as to what is being sung here, but I will clear that up by explaining the culture and traditions of three of the world’s largest religions this holiday season.
The Roman Catholic Church, with 980 million followers, is the largest Christian church in the world. The Pope in Vatican City is the spiritual leader of all Roman Catholics. He administers church affairs through bishops and priests. Members accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible, as well as the church’s interpretations of these. God’s grace is conveyed through the seven sacraments, especially the Eucharist, or communion, that is celebrated at mass and the regular service of worship in a church.
Islam has 840 million followers around the world. It was founded by the prophet Mohammed, who received the holy scriptures of Islam, the Koran, from Allah in 610 A.D. Islam (Arabic for “submission to God”) maintains that Mohammed is the last in a long line of holy prophets, preceded by Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. In addition to being devoted to the Koran, followers of Islam (Muslims) are devoted to the worship of Allah through the Five Pillars: prayers conducted five times a day while facing Mecca either at home or in a local mosque; the giving of alms to the poor; the keeping of the fast of Ramadan during the ninth month of the Muslim year; and the making of a pilgrimage at least once to Mecca, if possible. The two main divisions of Islam are the Sunni and the Shiite; the majority of Muslims are Sunnites who believe in the separation of religious leaders from political leaders; whereas, the Shiites believe in the combination of these two realms.
Stemming from the descendants of Judah in Judea, Judaism was founded around 2000 B.C. by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and has 18 million followers in the U.S. Judaism espouses belief in a monotheistic God, who is creator of the universe and who leads His people, the Jews, by speaking through prophets. His word is revealed in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), especially in that part known as the Torah. Judaism promotes community among all people of Jewish faith, dedication to a synagogue or temple, and the importance of family life. Religious observance takes place both at home and in the temple.
Hanukkah is an annual festival for Jewish people that varies in date according to the western calendar, but according to the Jewish calendar, always falls on the 25th day of Kislev (December) and goes for eight successive days.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in the year 165 B.C. When the Temple was rededicated to God, the festivities lasted eight days. According to tradition, only a one day supply of non-desecrated olive oil could be found for the rededication, but that small quantity burned for the entire eight days. Jews commemorate this event by lighting the candles of the menorah for eight nights of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah is a festive family occasion with special foods and songs. Foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and donuts commemorate the miracle of the oil.
Ramadan is during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is a month of fasting for adult Muslims. The month of Ramadan is particularly sacred to Muslims because the Qur’an (Koran) was first revealed to Mohammad, the final prophet of Islam, during this month. According to the Qur’an, the sacred scriptures of Islam, God required the fast of Ramadan so that believers “may cultivate piety.”
Each year, this month moves ahead by approximately 11 days because the Islamic calendar is based on the cycles of the moon.
Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of five pillars of Islam. It begins each morning and continues until sunset. Fasting consists of abstinence not only from food and drink, but also from smoking and sexual relations. All Muslims who have reached puberty and who are mentally and physically able to sustain fasting are obliged to fast during the month. People who are sick, traveling, pregnant, or nursing are exempt from fasting, but they must later make up any missed days.
Annually Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25, however members of the Orthodox Church usually delay their most important seasonal ceremonies until Jan. 6, when they celebrate Epiphany, a commemoration of the baptism of Jesus.
Although Christian gospel described Jesus’ birth in detail, they never mention the date, so historians do not know on what date he was born. The Roman Catholic Church chose Dec. 25, as the day for the Feast of Nativity in order to give Christian meaning to the existing pagan ritual of celebrating the winter solstice.
Epiphany also traditionally commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men of the East in Bethlehem (near Jerusalem, Israel), where they adored the infant Jesus and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The popular song, “Twelve Days of Christmas,” in fact celebrates the twelve days between the birth of Jesus and his baptism.
However, just as there are an abundance of holiday variations in the religious world, Santa Claus, the chief symbol of the secular holiday world, has many stories attached to his origins. However, regardless of the large numbers of these stories, the real person who the legend is spun from was from the country of Turkey. In all probability this person was a dark-haired, dark-skinned and dark-eyed male rather than the popular image of today’s Santa as a light- skinned, blue-eyed fellow.
