DENVER – There are about a dozen holidays celebrated around the world throughout the month of December, according to Time Magazine.
While many of those holidays have connections to religion, others are rooted in culture.
On an upcoming episode of Real Talk with Micah Smith, faith and community leaders discuss the meanings behind Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. They also discuss commercialization's impact on the holidays.
“I'm really of two minds about that (commercialization), because in one sense it's like man, there are a lot of things that are taking people away from what Christmas is really about, which is Jesus,” Matt Wolf, lead pastor of Arise Church Denver, said. “But on the other hand, I kind of love it because there's free advertising all the time for Christmas.”
In recent years, Hanukkah has also received a lot of marketing attention.
“While commercialization can sometimes disrupt religious thought and feeling, for the Jewish community what it actually does is create connections between our space and other religious communities,” said Elizabeth Sacks, senior rabbi of Temple Emanuel Denver.
Emily Hyatt, who also serves as senior rabbi of Temple Emanuel, said Hanukkah is not considered one of the most important Jewish holidays.
“Fascinatingly, Hanukkah is actually one of the beautiful and minor holidays in Jewish tradition. It is not by any stretch of the imagination our biggest… But it falls at a really important time of year,” Hyatt said.
Kwanzaa isn’t a religious holiday, but celebrates cultural connection.
According to History.com, Dr. Maulana Karenga started Kwanzaa in 1966 after the Watts Riots. Dr. Karenga wanted to find a way to bring the Black community together.
“It comes from Africa. It is a celebration of the first fruit or harvest… That means that at the end of the year, you come together, families and the community, and usually a person who’s a leader in the community brings the people together,” said Claudette Sweet, community leader and organizer for some of Denver’s Kwanzaa celebrations.
Real Talk with Micah Smith airs Sundays at 5:30 p.m. on Denver7.
