While Thanksgiving in the United States is officially a secular holiday, for people of faith it is a time to express our gratitude to God for all the blessings in our lives.  It is celebrated on Thursday, November 26.

Immediately afterwards, the winter holidays of the Abrahamic faiths begin:

Eid al-Adha is celebrated on November 27 this year — although officially it starts at sundown on November 26. Christians start observing Advent on November 29.  This period of four+ weeks of waiting and anticipation leads to Christmas, observed on December 25.

Chanuka, the Jewish Festival of Lights, starts on Saturday, December 12 and is observed for eight days ending on Saturday, December 19.

Each of these holidays is marked by traditional celebrations, special foods, hospitality and religious worship.  A great way to get to know more about the faiths other than your own is to learn the meanings and traditions of their holidays (holy days). Consider attending a worship service of another faith to observe and learn.  As we do this “the others” become “the friends.”

One of the observations I hear often, is that learning more about another religion deepens our curiosity and commitment to learning about our own faith and its traditions.

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