Wearing Christmas PJs. Family bake offs. Attending church services. Making homemade pierogies and pizza. Watching favorite movies together. Gazing at the holiday lights in the US and Canada, too. Sharing ornaments that depict personal milestones. These were just a few of the holiday traditions that our staff members enjoy with their families during the holiday season.
No matter our culture or our faith practice, most people find a festive or communal way to mark a holiday. Traditions change and evolve over time, as family members pass away and the next generations find fresh ways to celebrate. These treasures bring uniqueness and heart to their commemorations, and that is what makes them special and memorable. In other words, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are built in to the spirt of the season in authentic and organic ways.
Here’s an Example
When I was in college, a dear friend asked me to join her family for their Christmas Eve festivities. It was part of her Polish-American family’s heritage to invite a guest to the home to share Wiglia, a traditional celebration.
Pierogies, dried mushroom soup, and rye bread (all homemade from family recipes) were on the dinner table with other delicious treats. We shared the Oblatek, the Christmas wafer. There was even a visit from Santa which was exciting for the youngest cousins. It was a lovely evening and enriching experience that deepened by connections to this family and broadened my cultural awareness.
Community Events Galore!
There are other ways to experience holidays from a diverse cultural perspective.
Christmas Around World features decorated Christmas trees and cultural displays and activities.
Kwanzaa begins on December 26 with a flag raising in downtown Buffalo, followed by activities each day for the next week in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
There’s More to a Holiday
I have another friend who makes room in his family’s social calendar for giving back, too. Instead of a Christmas morning get-together, he spends his Christmas morning serving food at a local homeless shelter. There are plenty of shelters, pantries, and other places who could use an extra pair of hands any day, especially on the winter holidays where your participation will bring joy to a stranger’s life.
Sharing and giving aren’t exclusive to any one culture or faith practice: goodness and caring are pervasive and unite us. Making memories and sharing what’s in your heart are the things that make holidays so special and rife with meaning.
Cherie Messore
Executive Manager, Development, Government, and Community Relations
