Shedding some light on the naming controversy.

Sometimes when I get an idea for a column based on a hot topic of the day, that topic has cooled by the time my column appears in print, a week later. So I’m selfishly glad to see that the debate over how to greet people in December has continued to rage unabated.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? Words so similar, yet so very different. One, entirely centered on Christianity, the other, seemingly far more inclusive. But just what “holidays” are we happy for, and are they really that different?

December is a busy month, with Ramadan, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the winter solstice.

Winter solstice has been around since, well, as long as the sun, and it’s been celebrated by humans for many, many, many thousands of years. That’s a long time. For example, before the pyramids were built Neolithic tribes in Ireland, who had no written language, built what is now called Newgrange, an earthen mound with a stone-lined pathway to the interior, exactly aligned so that the rising winter solstice sun would shine directly down the dark corridor, to an altar.

Anthropologists figure these ancient tribesmen, and others around the world, felt they needed to greet the sun in worship in order for it to return each year.

For the record, winter solstice occurs when the sun is in its farthest south position (in the northern hemisphere) and the time between sunrise and sunset is the shortest. Yes, that’s today, Dec. 21. At 10:35 a.m. in case you’re setting your sundial.

Hanukkah and Christmas are both tied to the winter solstice. The eight days of Hanukkah begin three days before the new moon closest to winter solstice. That lands it usually within a few days of Dec. 25.

This year, it starts at sundown on Dec. 25.

And for the record, Hanukkah is not the Jewish version of Christmas. It’s not even that big a holiday in the Jewish calendar. Also called “The Festival of Lights,” it celebrates the retaking of a Jewish temple from the Romans about two centuries before Christ was born, and the miracle of one day’s worth of sacred oil for the altar menorah lasting eight days, until a new batch arrived.

Yes, the holiday involves eight days of gift giving, but traditionally they are small gifts, candy and money. Or candy money, in the case of “gelt” which are gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins.

Christian holidays often coincide with early pagan holidays. Maybe it’s easier to convert people if you don’t take away their festivities, but just call them something else. Christmas is no exception.

Biblical scholars mostly agree that it is unlikely Jesus was born on Dec. 25. In fact, for several hundred years his birth was not celebrated at all. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908 version, states “In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world.” Ouch.

So why Dec. 25?

From the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1983 edition: “The earliest mention of the observance on Dec. 25th is in the Philocalian Calendar, representing Roman practice of the year 336 (A.D.). This date was probably chosen to oppose the feast of the Natalis Solis Invicti (nativity of the unconquerable sun) by the celebration of the birth of the ‘Sun of Righteousness’ and its observance in the West seems to have spread from Rome.”

From sun to Son, all three holidays celebrate a light in the darkness.

The Muslim Ramadan is a month of fasting from sunrise to sundown, as a method of self-purification, spiritual growth and to gain empathy for those who often go hungry. This year, it began on Dec. 9. There are Ramadan greeting cards. A typical one reads: “Ramadan kareem! May blessings of Allah always be with someone as wonderful as you.”

And finally, the newest kid on the holiday block, Kwanzaa. This holiday was established in 1966 at the height of the Black Freedom Movement as a symbol of unity and self-determination for everyone of black African descent.

It is always observed Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, and is tied to the first harvest celebrations in Africa. Kwanzaa is from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits.” Not to be confused with “hakuna matata.”

One thing I found of note in researching this holiday is the edict: “You should not mix the Kwanzaa holiday or its symbols, values and practice with any other culture. This would violate the principles of Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday.” Sounds like we can safely leave Kwanzaa out of the one-size fits-all holiday greeting debate.

So what would be an appropriate inclusive greeting? Beats me. I’m more interested in raising the debate about why we don’t get all these holidays off instead of one day, when all the stores are closed. Only seems fair. wu