It’s finally December, the month many people look forward to mainly because it is the biggest holiday month of the year. Christmas is one of the three widely known holidays celebrated this month along with Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Even though the names sound completely different there are a lot of things that these holidays have in common.

Christmas is celebrated by the majority of the U.S population and consists of two days, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The difference between Christmas and Hanukkah traditions is not only the religion of the people who celebrate it but that Hanukkah is celebrated for 7 nights starting on the 25th day of “kislev” on the Hebrew Calendar. The main tradition of Hanukkah is the lighting of the nine candles that are held in a menorah.

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday which is 8 nights long and starts at December 26th and lasts until January 1st every year. Unlike Hanukkah, during the holiday of Kwanzaa people only light seven candles as opposed to nine. The holiday was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga to give African Americans an alternative to the existing holiday and an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history. Over the course of the years, all of these holiday traditions have gained more popularity in our country as many people choose to celebrate them.

Enjoy the holidays!