Flygurl89

Guest Writer

The holidays are here!!! Let's spread a little CHEER!

Hey Whyvillans! =) Flygurl89 here. Bringing you the D word. LOL. Nooo, not that! I'm talking about DIVERSITY! Why can't we just be diverse? Can anyone tell me why it's so hard, getting along together? Well, I'll tell you! I think that one of the major reasons is we just don't understand what's different between us. Agree? If not, I'm sure you have good reasons, too. But really, back to my subject. We just don't know about each other.

Most people I know believe in Christmas, but there are others out there, too. There are actually quite a few. But I only know about 3, and am fascinated with learning more. The 3 that I am aware of are: Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah!

Anyway, those three or a mix, whichever you celebrate, are all very different and diverse. For myself, I celebrate Christmas. But I know people who celebrate others. Although I do not know about Kwanazaa, and maybe someone could tell us all, I do know a little about Hanukkah. For Jewish people, they have I think a different belief about god than Christians. They have a menorah (the candle holder thing that has I believe 8 candles). Jewish people also have games and different food for their holiday, they eat latkes (potato pancakes) and they play dreidel games. They also get a present for each day they have they celebrate (longer than Christmas!). I don't really know anything else. Sorry. But for everyone who doesn't know about Christmas, I'll explain my family's traditions.

Christmas is Jesus' birthday in our religion. On Christmas Eve, most go to church and celebrate his birth. Children go to bed and "Santa" brings them gifts in the morning. They open them to find presents that they put on a wish list. Although Christmas isn't originally about the Santa-part, it's become a tradition all Christians mostly use; at least, I think so. Also, for Christians, and probably folks in other religions, We get a Christmas tree. We decorate the tree with airlume ornaments and/or tinsel, stringed popcorn, or paper chains. Stockings are also hung on fireplace mantels, or other places if people don't have a fireplace. I'm not going to write up the whole Bible story about Jesus, but I think I've given you a pretty good description. If you want to learn more about any religion or belief for different celebrations, surf the web or go to a library! LOL!

So, from Tradition to Belief, just be Diverse! ;) And make the world a better place! Open your Horizons!

-Flygurl89