Bellevue School District is home to students from across the world, who speak over 103 unique languages and celebrate rich and vibrant traditions. Our varied religious, cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds create a tapestry as unique as our district. As many of us celebrate this season of light and love, may it serve to illuminate the strength of our community as we rejoice with one another. Learn more about a few of the many celebrations taking place in our homes and communities during this time of year.
Los Posadas
Las Posadas is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24 in many parts of Latin America including Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Translating to ‘the inns’ in Spanish, Las Posadas involves nine nights of celebrations where processions and gatherings are held at various homes to recreate Mary and Joseph’s search for an inn on the night of Jesus’s birth.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival observed for eight nights and days. It is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah. Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights or Jewish Festival of Rededication. The festival commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem where the Maccabean Revolt took place. The victorious Maccabees had only enough sacred oil available to burn for a single night, but it miraculously lasted for eight. This is the reason for the eight lights (candles today) on the menorah, not including the shamash (candle used to light the others during the festival), lit over the eight-day Hanukkah celebration. Many Jewish families also give or exchange gifts on each of the nights of Hanukkah, adding to the festivities and celebrations with loved ones and friends.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African American culture based on harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa, including West and Southeast Africa. Following the Watts riots in 1966, Kwanzaa was conceptualized and launched by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, as a way to unify African Americans. Each of the seven nights during Kwanzaa focus on a different African cultural value: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Similar to Hanukkah and the lighting of the menorah, those who celebrate Kwanzaa light candles on the kinara (candleholder) and discuss one of the seven principles. Celebrations vary, but the festivities often include gathering, storytelling, dance, music and meals.
Christmas Eve and Christmas
Christmas Eve is recognized by Christians as the beginning of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is believed that shepherds tending to their flocks witnessed a bright star in the sky, signaling the birth of Jesus at midnight. Christmas Eve’s celebration is also rooted in the Jewish traditions of beginning observances and celebrations at sundown and extending into the following day.
The story of Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, grew in popularity in the early 20th century. Beyond the religious celebration of Christmas, the Christmas holiday like many others around the world, has become a time of togetherness and connection with family and friends.
Learn More
View the BSD Cultural Calendar to see other cultural and religious observances celebrated by members of the BSD community throughout the year.