December holidays

[destabee]

Interesting newspaper article where folks talk about the holidays they celebrate this time of year and what those holidays mean to them.

Celebrating Other Traditions from teh Battle Creek Enquirer




Article published Dec 18, 2007
Celebrating other traditions
Darby Prater
The Enquirer

As shoppers fumble from store to store with bags full of packages, the point of the season can get lost amid the materialism.

For many, Christmas has deeper meaning than just setting up a tree and waiting for Santa Claus. The birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the son of God, is celebrated each year on Dec. 25.

But that's not the only celebration happening this time of year. People of many spiritual traditions also celebrate holidays in the months of November, December and January.

While Christianity is the most commonly practiced of Western religions, many Americans choose other traditions. United States Census Bureau data from 2001 identifies at least 20 other non-Christian religions practiced by Americans.

The same survey by the U.S. Census Bureau found 77 percent of Americans consider themselves Christians, with Catholics and Baptists making up 53 percent of those self-described Christians polled in a random survey of 50,281 U.S. households.

Census Bureau data from 2000 shows 39.9 percent of Michiganders attended Christian churches, ranking Michigan the 13th lowest state in Christian population in the U.S.

In Calhoun County, several people who practice non-Christian religions were asked what this time of year means to them and how their religious beliefs affect their holiday celebrations. Core beliefs differ, but most traditions center on giving to others, spending time with family and being thankful for the blessings in life.

AFRICAN WAY TO GOD

Shawna McCaden-Buster of Battle Creek doesn't call it a religion. She calls it a way of life. McCaden-Buster, 34, practices African Spirituality of the Akan Tradition, derived from the West African country of Ghana.

She became interested in the tradition in 1997 after a trip to Ghana. She has been tracing her mother's roots back to the Ghanaian region. Her second trip to Ghana was in 2000, and she plans to go again this coming year.

"It's really important to me, as a person of African descent ... to go back and restore the traditions of my ancestors, lost through the Middle Passage," a soft-spoken McCaden-Buster said, referring to the forced transportation of Africans to the New World for the purposes of slavery.

Several symbols of her faith adorn McCaden-Buster's office at Albion College, where she is the associate director for Intercultural Affairs. A wooden Sankofa bird symbolizes the importance of looking back at the past.

"The feet are moving forward, and the head is pointing back," she explained. "It literally means it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot. The egg symbolizes the future."

Another core symbol in the Akan tradition is called Gye Nyame, which means "God is omnipotent, omnipresent."

While there is no specific holiday this time of year, two Holy Days come around every 40 to 42 days, McCaden-Buster said. Akwasidae, usually on a Sunday, is a day to show your recommitment to Onyame, the supreme being. Awukudae occurs on Wednesdays throughout the year to remember those less fortunate.

She, her husband and son will not celebrate Christmas, but they focus on Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Gift giving and remembering African ancestors are a part of Kwanzaa, which is not a religious celebration.

"People of any tradition can practice Kwanzaa," McCaden-Buster said. "It teaches positive principles of living."

In the Akan tradition, African proverbs are the language of the ancestors, passed down through generations.

"They use proverbs to teach life lessons," McCaden-Buster said. "Such as, 'One does not go into council with oneself,' and 'If you want to speak to God, speak to the winds' because God is everywhere."

MEDITATING ON PEACE

When his five children were young, Bob Brown and his family celebrated Christmas in a traditional way, with a lighted tree and presents.

The 66-year-old Assyria Township man is an ordained priest in the Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist tradition. He sees nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas as a holiday of giving and good cheer, but you won't find a Nativity scene near the tree.

"It's a nontheistic tradition," Brown said of Buddhism. "They don't say there isn't a God, but they also don't try to convert anyone. We have respect for other traditions. ... The idea is to harmonize with the culture."

Brown has been a Buddhist for 35 years. He attends Shambhala Meditation Group in Battle Creek, where a retreat celebrating Buddha's enlightenment took place Dec. 1-8.

"This particular one is generally in December," Brown said of the retreat. "It celebrates when Buddha obtained enlightenment after six years of meditation."

Brown plans to attend another retreat in Detroit on Dec. 26-31.

For the past 10 years, Brown has entered prisons to meditate with inmates. He has visited inmates at Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility every Friday morning for the past two-and-a-half years.

"I have been going ... to teach meditation to inmates so they can learn to stop creating suffering for themselves and others," he said.

Brown said Buddhism centers on the idea that all creatures on earth are interconnected.

"Generally, Buddhists, if they see a fly or spider, they'll put it in a jar and take it outside," Brown said. "The idea is to be respectful of all living things."

The things you leave undone on this earth will cause others to suffer in the next lifetime, Brown added.

"If you were to pass away tomorrow ... all your unfulfilled desire pulls up into the eighth manifestation," he said. " ... The cause of suffering is desire."

GOOD FORTUNE AT CORE OF SIKH'S VALUES

While Sikhism is the world's fifth largest religion, fewer than three-tenths of Americans practice the North Indian tradition.

Albion College senior Rasleen Saluja and her family are in that minority. Her parents are originally from India, but they now live in Chicago. Saluja has been to India several times.

They celebrate the birth of the first Sikh prophet, Guru Nanak, in November. Also in November is Diwali, or "Festival of Lights," celebrating the Indian New Year.

"We put gold lights outside the house, and there is gift giving," Saluja, 20, said. "Everyone cleans their house. We celebrate the Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi. ... No one wants a dirty house when the Goddess of Wealth comes to visit."

She added that on the night of Diwali, a tray is brought out with tumric powder, saffron, ice and milk. A special Diwali coin is placed in the milk, and prayers are said for blessings of the New Year.

Saluja and her family celebrate Christmas, but the coming of the Gregorian New Year (Jan. 1) is much more important to them.

"My family says Merry Christmas," she said. "A lot of Sikhs do celebrate commercial Christmas, with presents and a tree. ... I can miss Christmas, but I can't miss the new year in my house. It would be heresy."

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion, which means Sikhs believe in one deity. They also believe in reincarnation.

"You come back as different things," Saluja said. "Human life is so rare. Only one in 14,000 lives you'll experience is a human life. If you come back as a frog, it's harder to commune with God."

She said she does not believe heaven and hell exist outside this world.

"Heaven and hell are here," Saluja said. "We don't believe in a metaphysical cloud break where Morgan Freeman's voice comes out of the clouds. ... When you're good to someone you create a heaven for them. Nothing can be more cruel or beautiful than human life."

A WICCAN WHO ACCEPTS EVERYONE

If life is a highway, all roads lead to God, according to Wiccan High Priestess Christi "Crowfox" Fleming of Battle Creek.

"God speaks to each of us in our hearts in a different way," she said. "Each religion represents a spoke on the wheel. The spokes are ways to God, at the center of the wheel."

The 34-year-old leads a multifaith group at Sacred River Moon Metaphysical Spiritual Center.

"When I moved back here in 1998, a lot of people were asking religious questions," Fleming said. "There's a lot of persecution in this area. I saw a need for a forum. This is a safe haven for people of all faiths to meet ... and be accepted for who they are."

Fleming was raised a Mormon in Battle Creek. She encourages people to seek knowledge of all religions and choose the one that is right for them.

"When people learn about other faiths, their foundations become stronger, but with a better understanding of how others view God," she said. "... Knowledge is power but to limit knowledge creates fear."

In addition to being a Wiccan High Priestess, Fleming also is an ordained minister in the Universalist Church, and follows the Native American Lakota tradition.

"In Lakota, God is the great mystery," she said. "Native Americans believe once you begin to describe what God is, you limit the sacred mystery."

This is the best time of year to reach out to those in need, she said.

"Most religions as a whole do celebrate some kind of holiday this time of year, and most have to do with giving," she said. "People have forgotten the reason for the season. I get real tired of the slogan 'Jesus is the reason for the season.'

"The reason for the season is to help your community survive. ... It's not about giving your kid a new bike. We have homeless people in this community. It's nice to give five dollars, but it's nicer to actually go down and make sure they have enough help at the soup kitchen."

Fleming is hosting a Yule dinner on Dec. 22 at her home, open to the public.

Darby Prater can be reached at 966-0589 or dprater@battlecr.gannett.com.