To the Editor:
In this season, as the nights grow longer, we experience the sacred interplay of light and dark. We are heading toward the winter solstice, when the hours of darkness will be longest. People from the most ancient of times have experienced the solstice as a sacred day. In Ireland there is a burial tomb, 5000 years old, that was specially designed to receive the first light of dawn on the longest night of the year.
This time of year Jews celebrate Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights.” It commemorates a time of persecution for the Jewish people, when the Syrian Empire forced them to pray to Greek gods. The Maccabees fought for the liberation of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple as a house of prayer with the lighting of the menorah. It was a time of miracles. Although they had only enough oil to light the menorah for one day, the light continued for eight days. So it is that for eight days, in the darkness of December, Jews light the candles of the menorah and give thanks.
In my own Christian tradition, we celebrate the coming of the Christ child this time of year, born to Mary on a silent and holy night. It is for us the light of God bursting forth into the world. Every year we read the stories of the lowly shepherds who heed the songs of the angels and the wise men who follow the star to the manger in Bethlehem where Jesus, the Christ child, lay. In the season of Christmas we become like the shepherds and the wise men and rejoice in the light that has come into the world.
This year, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan precedes Hanukkah and the Christmas season. During this lunar month, which began on October 26, Muslims fast through the daylight hours. This experience of fasting fosters empathy and compassion for people who must struggle to survive without adequate food throughout the year. For Muslims, the discipline of fasting, when faithfully observed, brings them closer to God. After the sun has set, Muslims gather with their families and friends and in mosques to break bread and worship God together. In this way the hours of daylight and the hours of darkness each become precious and holy.
In this season, may each one of us experience, as Louis Armstrong once sang, “the bright blessed days and dark sacred nights.” May we learn about each other’s traditions and honor them. May we rejoice in our own holidays and traditions with our friends and families.
Peace be with you and with your loved ones throughout this holy season.
Rev. Beth Illingworth
Protestant Chaplain
