Learning about the Winter Holidays

In Saturday’s post on religious intolerance around the winter holidays, I argued that this time of year presents a great opportunity to learn about different religious holidays observed in America.

It turns out the UUWorld recently published an article on a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Illinois doing just that (”Winterfaith Series Honors Diverse Religious Holidays”). The Mt. Vernon UU Fellowship will be spending December and January exploring religious holidays from many traditions. They will celebrate Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Eid al-Adha, Epiphany, and World Religion Day. In addition, the congregation has taken out advertising to “wish a happy holiday for Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day).”

I like what this congregation is doing for two reasons:

First, it counters the religious intolerance that can sadly come out during the winter holiday season.

Second, it promotes spiritual exploration and growth, during a time of year when it is sorely needed. The holidays can be stressful with social and financial obligations, and if you live “up North” (like me) then they can also be quite cold and dark.

The concern I think some readers of the UUWorld article will have is whether or not the celebration of different religious holidays is authentic. Will the congregation be able to really “go deep” in learning about these holidays?

Of course a group can’t gain a comprehensive understanding about a holiday from a single event. It can take scholars and religious adherents years to fully grasp the significance of a particular holiday. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth starting to learn.

As one of the Winterfaith organizers told the UUWorld:

“We were talking about all of the holidays that happen this time of year, not only in Christianity, but in other religions, and how it was a shame most people don’t know anything about them.”

Through Winterfaith, the Mt. Vernon UU Fellowship is making a stand for religious pluralism and inviting people to take the first steps in understanding other faith traditions.