December is a mess. A beautiful, chaotic, neon-lit mess of a month. For some, it’s about the crushing weight of a credit card bill from too much gift-buying. For others, it’s a quiet, spiritual trek through the coldest nights of the year. When we talk about holidays celebrated in december, most people immediately think of a guy in a red suit or a tree in a living room, but that’s honestly just scratching the surface of what’s actually happening on the ground.
It's deep. It's old.
From the lighting of the Menorah to the wild, rhythmic dancing of Junkanoo in the Bahamas, the end of the year isn't just one big party—it's a thousand different ways to say, "We survived the dark."
The Solar Connection: Why We All Party at Once
Why now? Why does everyone decide to throw a festival when the weather is (mostly) terrible?
It’s the Sun. Basically, humans have always been obsessed with the Winter Solstice. Astronomically, the Northern Hemisphere tilts furthest away from the sun around December 21st or 22nd. Ancient peoples weren't stupid; they noticed the days getting shorter and the nights getting colder. They were terrified the sun might just keep disappearing. So, they started fires. They feasted. They made a lot of noise to coax the light back.
Take Saturnalia, for example. The Romans were intense. They spent a week in mid-December overturning every social norm they had. Masters served their slaves. Gambling—usually illegal—was allowed in public. It was a pressure valve for society. You see echoes of that chaos in our modern New Year’s Eve, though we’ve swapped the tunics for sequins.
Then you’ve got Yule. Before it was a brand of log you buy at a bakery, it was a multi-day midwinter festival celebrated by Germanic peoples. They didn’t just put up a tree for the aesthetic; they were honoring the return of the sun and the god Odin. If you’ve ever felt a weird urge to bring a pine tree into your house and drape it in lights, you’re basically channeling a thousand-year-old Norse survival instinct.
💡 You might also like: Human DNA Found in Hot Dogs: What Really Happened and Why You Shouldn’t Panic
Beyond the Big Three: The Real Diversity of December
We need to talk about the stuff that doesn't get a TV special every year.
Hanukkah is often treated as "Jewish Christmas" in the West, which is kind of annoying and factually wrong. It’s the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. The miracle isn't about presents; it's about a tiny jar of oil lasting eight days when it should have lasted one. It’s a story of resistance and religious freedom. It usually falls in December, though because it follows the Hebrew calendar, it occasionally starts in late November. If you’ve never had a properly fried latke with applesauce, you’re missing out on the best part of the month.
Then there’s Kwanzaa. Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, it’s a relatively "new" addition to the holidays celebrated in december, but its roots are intentionally ancient. It’s a week-long celebration of African-American culture, focusing on seven principles like Umoja (Unity) and Kujichagulia (Self-Determination). It’s not a religious holiday. It’s a cultural one. Families light the Kinara and discuss how to build their community. It starts December 26th, right when the Christmas "high" starts to fade into a nap-induced coma.
Las Posadas and the Neighborhood Pilgrimage
In Mexico and parts of the Southwestern U.S., December 16th kicks off Las Posadas.
Imagine this: For nine nights, a procession of people wanders through the streets. They’re reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem. They knock on doors. They sing. They get rejected (ceremonially, of course). Finally, they’re let in at a designated house, and a massive party breaks out with tamales and ponche navideño. It’s loud, it’s communal, and it makes a standard American dinner party look like a library study session.
The Weird and Wonderful Regional Outliers
Not every holiday is about a miracle or a deity. Some are just... local.
📖 Related: The Gospel of Matthew: What Most People Get Wrong About the First Book of the New Testament
- Saint Lucia’s Day (December 13): In Sweden, girls wear crowns of actual burning candles. It sounds like a fire hazard—and it kind of is—but it’s a stunning tribute to the bringer of light during the brutal Scandinavian winter.
- Dongzhi Festival: This is huge in East Asia. It’s the arrival of winter. People eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls) or dumplings. The idea is that as the days get longer, positive energy (Yang) starts to return. It’s a quiet, family-focused moment amidst the global noise.
- Boxing Day (December 26): In the UK, Canada, and Australia, this started as a day to give "boxes" of gifts to tradespeople and servants. Now? It’s basically a massive day for sports and shopping.
- Omisoka: New Year’s Eve in Japan is a spiritual deep clean. People clean their houses from top to bottom, eat Toshikoshi-soba (long noodles for a long life), and head to temples to hear the bells ring 108 times to banish human sins.
Why the "War on Christmas" Narrative is Mostly Nonsense
Every year, people get into heated debates about "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays." Honestly, it’s a bit of a distraction. When you look at the sheer volume of holidays celebrated in december, "Happy Holidays" isn't a political statement; it's a mathematical necessity.
Between Saint Nicholas Day (Dec 6), the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec 8), Bodhi Day (celebrating the Buddha's enlightenment, often in Dec), and the Zoroastrian observance of Yalda Night, the calendar is packed. We aren't erasing traditions; we’re living in a world where we finally noticed everyone else is also throwing a party.
The Psychological Weight of the Season
There’s a reason we feel so "off" in December. Psychologists often point to the "Holiday Blues," but it’s more complex than just being sad. It’s the contrast. We’re told we should be joyful, but the days are the darkest they’ll ever be.
According to research by the American Psychological Association, 38% of people say their stress levels increase during the holidays. We’re balancing the "Hurry Up" of end-of-year work deadlines with the "Slow Down" of family obligations. It’s a cognitive dissonance that defines the month.
But there’s also the "Gifting Economy." We spend billions. In the US alone, holiday retail sales often top $900 billion. That’s a lot of sweaters and gadgets. Yet, the most enduring traditions—the ones that actually survive for centuries—rarely involve plastic. They involve light, food, and people.
How to Actually Navigate December Without Losing Your Mind
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of things happening, you're not alone. It’s a lot. To make the most of the various holidays celebrated in december, you have to be intentional.
👉 See also: God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise: The True Story Behind the Phrase Most People Get Wrong
- Stop trying to do it all. You don't need to attend the office party, the neighborhood cookie swap, and the midnight service if you're exhausted. Pick the one that actually means something to you.
- Learn one new tradition. Most of the friction in our culture comes from not knowing what the person next to us is actually celebrating. Read up on the significance of the Soyal festival of the Hopi Indians or why the Night of the Radishes (Noche de Rábanos) in Oaxaca is a thing. It makes the world feel bigger and less scary.
- Audit your spending. The "commercial" holiday is a 20th-century invention. The "light in the dark" holiday is a 10,000-year-old human necessity. Focus on the latter.
- Embrace the darkness. Instead of fighting the winter with more LED lights, try a "candlelight only" night on the Solstice. It’s surprisingly grounding.
What’s Next for Your December?
Don't let the month just "happen" to you. Most people wake up on January 1st feeling like they’ve been through a blender.
Start by looking at your calendar right now. Identify which of these holidays celebrated in december actually resonate with your heritage or your values. If you're hosting, try incorporating a dish from a different culture’s winter celebration—maybe some Japanese soba or a panettone from Italy.
The goal isn't to have a "perfect" holiday. It's to find a way to acknowledge the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. Get outside during the Solstice. Watch the sunset. Remember that for as long as humans have been around, we've been finding reasons to stay warm together in the dark.
Go find your light.
Actionable Insight: Choose one holiday outside your own tradition mentioned above and research a traditional recipe associated with it. Prepare that dish this week to physically connect with the global diversity of the season. Use the Winter Solstice on December 21st as a designated "digital-free" evening to reset your internal clock before the final New Year's rush.