Happy Solstice Everyone!

Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the reason for this celebration season. Most cultures have held a celebration at this time to acknowledge rebirth and many of our current symbols have been adopted from ancient cultures. I find it fascinating to learn about how different cultures have celebrated this season and hope to pass that curiosity on to my kids.

Beginning after Thanksgiving, my son's class learned about different cultural celebrations around the world. Each child made a passport and they pretended to travel to other countries. Not only did they learn about the holidays that these cultures celebrate, they also made the country's flag as an art project and wrote a recount about what they had learned as a writing project. I have been really impressed with my son's teacher this year.

As I've looked through his projects, I've been excited to see that he is learning about cultures other than his own. Since my kids were tiny, we've read them stories about Hanukkah, Ramadan & Eid ul Fatr, Kwanzaa, and ancient solstice celebrations. We wanted them to see that all people have different beliefs and different ways of celebrating. There is no such thing as the "right" way to celebrate or the "wrong" way to celebrate. We need to appreciate each other's differences.

Some of our friends and relatives were offended by this. They were appalled that we were teaching our kids to be tolerant of other cultures. Not only that, we weren't teaching our children that our way is the right way and those other people are wrong. This makes me wonder how other parents might react to their children bringing home projects about other cultures. Does the teaching of other views threaten them? Or are most of them as thrilled as I am that our kids are learning things in elementary school that we didn't learn until we were adults?

We celebrate Christmas every year simply because that is what our families celebrate. For me, that is what the holiday is about...family, friends, caring for others, helping people out. In a time that could be depressing because of the hours of darkness, these are the things that help us overlook the darkness. We look beyond our differences and come together to celebrate.

I am lucky to have a very tolerant family. My mom & sister are quite religious and were surprised when I first told them that I was an atheist. However, that has not changed the way that they treat me. We are able to look past the differences we have and find common ground. Actually, it's amazing how many things we do have in common and it's quite easy to overlook our religious differences. They are respectful of us and the way we raise our children and we are respectful of them. We all realize that disagreements do not equal attacks or disrespect.

I guess that is why I find it sad that many people see the holiday as a time to fight over who is right or wrong. There is no such thing as a "War on Christmas" in the real world...it's all in peoples' heads. Each person may celebrate how he/she wishes. When someone celebrates differently than someone else, that does not mean they are attacking that person. If I like white bread and you like wheat, am I attacking you when I eat white bread? How ridiculous!

My hope is that one day people will realize that our differences make the world more interesting. Just because I am not like you, does not mean that everything I do is an attack on you. Celebrate the differences....don't be afraid of them.