Holiday 2020… A Celebration of Victory, Life, & Culture

Happy ChristmaKwanzakhaah! Here at You9ted, we are particularly fond of Christmas, but we encourage you to celebrate whatever serves your heart well! This year has been HEAVY, to say the least! Whether you observe Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, all 3, none of them, or everything in between, it doesn’t matter! Celebrate in a way that will benefit your spirit! In the case you’re not sure about which holiday to celebrate, we’ve got the scoop! Y’all know I only got 2 minutes, so let’s get to it!

• Hanukkah
  • December 10^th-18^th
    • Aka, the Festival of Lights is all about the miracle dedication! Picture this! Its second century BC, the Jews have just revolted and want to mark their victory against their Greek-Syrian rulers. The problem is, they want to do it for the culture, and light their Menorah but they only have enough oil for the night! Surprise, surprise! The oil lasted for 8 days instead! So even though this isn’t a religious holiday, that sounds like a miracle to me!
  • Christmas
    • December 25^th
      • Contrary to popular belief, Christmas is NOT all about going broke buying Christmas gifts. While it’s been modified to be more palpable for the masses, Christmas is actually a religious holiday to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It’s not worth splitting hairs over the fact that Jesus may (or may not) have actually been born on December 25^th, 0000. The point is he was immaculately conceived and sacrificed for the sole purpose of saving the world! His life marks the realization for Christians that our redemption is near!
    • Kwanza
      • December 26^th-January 1^st
        • This is actually not a religious holiday, it’s all about the culture! Celebrated for a full week, Kwanza is a time to honor heritage. Although this commemoration takes place in the United States, it’s primary focus is on African-American culture. The seven principles (nguzo saba) of Kwanzaa utilize Kiswahili words: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani). This holiday is too rich in tradition to address everything here, but we’re here for all this positivity!

In the case that you’re wondering, “why is this girl trying to teach us about all these other holidays?” We are YOU9TED, and our mission is and will ALWAYS be to bind believers and non-believers together! I promise, you won’t lose your Jesus via education! You can learn and begin to understand things that you don’t necessarily agree with without compromising your own beliefs! It’s so much easier to connect with others, when you understand their perspective. Free of judgements. Free of negativity. Free of convictions. No matter who or what you worship, ‘tis the season to be YOU9TED!

No matter which one of these holidays (or none of these holidays) you take part in, victory, life, and culture is something we ALL should connect with. So, this week rejoice in those small victories that you normally would overlook. Appreciate your life, because a lot people haven’t made it through the year. Lastly, find pleasure in whatever culture you closely identify with!