ith Christianity practiced by over 86% of the U.S.
Population, it's no surprise that Christmas is the most celebrated
religious observance around New Jersey. That percentage was rounded off
from a poll
conducted by City University of NY as reported by
Adherents.
Nonreligious made up another 7.5%, followed by Judaism at 1.8%.
There are, of course, many other religions practiced
in the area; but the celebrations of these two are in the forefront during
what is the traditional holiday season between Thanksgiving and the New
Year. Also included is a brief introduction to the very young observance
of Kwanzaa. Please see the links from other guides to the right for more
detailed information on these and other religions.
Christmas
December 25
Celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with services on Christmas morning
and many candlelight services held on Christmas Eve. Due to our large
population of Christians, the celebration has effectively become a
nonsectarian holiday as well. When combined with the New Year, a basis is
formed for the traditional winter break in educational institutions at all
levels.
Often, it seems the religious significance of this holiday is overshadowed
by the heavy sales and advertising push by retailers during the last six
weeks of the year. Regardless of the motives of the various participants,
the tradition of decorating cut evergreen trees for use inside the home
and stringing colored lights outside on eaves and shrubbery creates very
pleasant, often dazzling, displays throughout the shore region.
Hanukkah
Begins with the 25th day of the lunar month of
Kislev. In 2002 this is November 30 (sunset on the 29th) ending on
December 8th.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of Jews to
their religious ancestry; a candle is lit and placed in a special menorah
for each of the eight days of the observance alternating from the
rightmost holder to the leftmost until all eight candles are lit.
Kwanzaa
December 26th through January 1st.
Not a religion, but a cultural celebration, this very young (1966) and
fast growing observance was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a means of
reaffirming the roots of African-Americans and providing a means of
reinforcing the bond between them. Celebrants of all faiths are welcome to
observe the seven days of Kwanzaa each reflecting a different value:
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Unity
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Self-determination
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Collective Work and Responsibility
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Cooperative Economics
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Purpose
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Creativity
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Faith
Quite an interesting and well thought out means of
strengthening a community through cooperative efforts. Dr. Karenga
deserves applause for his unselfish contribution to society in the
creation of Kwanzaa.
Holiday Participation is
Optional
he holidays bring to bear a lot of pressure to come
out of your shell and participate in a variety of family, business,
religious and social functions. Your participation, with the possible
exception of the business functions, is entirely up to you.
Many people suffer from "holiday blues" and drag themselves out to these
functions to appease the wishes of others. However, if it really is a
imposition on your true desires, a polite but firm "thanks, but no thanks"
will be respected and long forgotten by family and friends after we're
safely past the high season of celebrations.
Making the choice to celebrate in your own way doesn't mean you won't
enjoy yourself, quite the contrary - doing what you like however far from
the "norm" is likely to be much more fun than being an unwilling
participant in the celebrations of the mainstream! Though the "party
animals" may profess not to understand your choice, it's a good bet that a
fair number of them are envious of your fortitude in making your own fun.
What might that fun include?
-
Get out of town
The majority of Americans have ten vacation days at their jobs; planning
a trip during Thanksgiving allows a week off and uses up only three of
those precious days, making a couple of three-day weekends at the beach
possible next summer.
-
Head for the slots
The days surrounding the holiday celebrations may be crowded, but on the
actual holiday you'll often find a, comparatively speaking, muted
atmosphere in the Atlantic City casinos.
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Take in a movie
If you were thinking, this "do-my-own-thing" sounds fine but no
one really does that, you might be surprised at the crowds out there! A
couple of years ago it was standing room only at the Christmas Day
opening of Patch Adams.
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Relax with a DVD
Just because you're not out at the big parties doesn't mean you
have no holiday spirit! A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th
Street and It's a Wonderful Life are among the classic films
that make fine viewing during the season.
-
Meditate on the beach
Discover what the surf fishermen have known for years: being alone
with the sand and surf brings an extraordinary feeling of inner peace.
Whether your plans include hearty partying, staying
home alone or some combination of each, everyone enjoys watching the tree
lighting ceremonies, picking out a tree of their own or eating fresh baked
cookies.
Tree Lighting Ceremonies
oth
the
PNC Bank Arts Center and the Tuckerton Seaport
offer ongoing shows throughout the season after their initial
ceremonies. Many towns along the Jersey Shore also have tree lighting
ceremonies in late November and early December.
Tree Farms
ften, it seems that every empty lot in the region
has makeshift lights strung up and trailer loads of tightly bound trees
available for sale during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This is certainly a convenient way to get your tree, but increasingly
families around the shore are creating their own mini-ceremonies of a trip
to a tree farm for a freshly cut local tree. The majority of the farms
don't yet have an internet presence, however these sites
have a fairly comprehensive listing:
Cookies
atching
tree lightings, shopping and buying or cutting a fresh tree brings on an
appetite for holiday cookies; the refrigerated tubes of cookie dough in
the store, despite the extruded decorations down the middle, just don't
quite make the grade when it comes to satisfying that desire! The local
bakery may be a good alternative if you just don't have the basic
equipment at home to bake up a batch of your own, but it's really not that
difficult to do.
Charitable Giving
rea
charities depend on your support all year long and are particularly
reliant on extra donations of food, funds and time during the holiday
season. Here are a number of organizations with Web sites that would
appreciate your consideration.
If you already "gave at the office"
or there's simply no extra room in the budget this year, it's still
possible to make an indirect contribution with some slight changes in your
food shopping purchases or your entertainment choices:
-
America's Second Harvest maintains a list of major food corporations
that are active in charitable giving; just switching to one of the
brands listed there would allow you do that little bit more without any
additional outlay of funds.
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Holiday Express is an organization of musicians that banded together
in 1993 to present holiday concerts each year for the benefit of a wide
variety of people. Attending one of these concerts is another indirect
contribution that also provides you with an enjoyable evening out.
Shelter from the elements may be the most important element for the
homeless, but for many families going through a rough financial period, the
ability to put together nourishing meals each day is number one on the
list of priorities. These organizations address that need:
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The
Food Bank in Red Bank serves many charities throughout the Monmouth
and Ocean county regions, distributing more than one-hundred tons of
food monthly.
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The
Community Food Bank (Southern Branch) serves shore residents in
Atlantic and Cape May counties.
A variety of organizations provide shelter and other assistance to the
disadvantaged:
Enjoy the Holidays!
