“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” –Thornton Wilder

So often we let holidays slide by without pausing to reflect on their significance. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday…but every end-of-year holiday, from Diwali to Kwanzaa, Eid ul-Adha, Hanukkah and Christmas, are at the core about reflecting on and celebrating those things we are grateful for: family, friends, health, food, warmth, faith and enlightenment. As your friends get ready to celebrate perhaps a different holiday than you this year, we thought we’d summarize the traditions of each to help you acknowledge their celebrations.

What are you grateful for? Why do we send cards?

Even before making your gift list, scouring the web for the best gift ideas, and taking out your credit card at the mall, take the time to ask yourself what and who you are grateful for. Taking the time to acknowledge people and the things they do, no matter how small, is one of the best things you can do for yourself. A simple acknowledgement of gratitude such as a thoughtful holiday card, sent with love from the heart will make for a ‘warm’ holiday season.

What do you include in a card?

With everyone now following each other on Facebook, the need for a family newsletter and photos in a card may be obsolete. Instead, a short note of thanks and acknowledgement of the role they play in your life and in your family’s life, is a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the year. Keep it simple and short, or include a favorite poem (see how to write a thank you note for ideas.) Funny holiday cards are always appreciated! At Jack Cards you can select a different card to suit each individual. (Jack Cards will also handwrite, stamp, address and send each holiday card for you.)

Which holidays are your friends celebrating?

We’d love to hear about your most memorable holiday moments and traditions, and what they mean to you. The following is a summary of what we’ve found about the origins and traditions of each major end-of-year holiday. An easy gift to give is to surprise your friends with a card acknowledging the holiday that they celebrate.

Eid ul-Adha – Nov 16
Eid al-Adha, “Festival of Sacrifice” or “Greater Eid”, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. By God’s command, Abraham was instead able to sacrifice a ram. Eid is also about spending time with family and friends, sacrifice, and thanksgiving. Celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide.

Send an Eid al-Adha card to your friends here.

Thanksgiving – Nov 25 (Oct 11 in Canada)
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the US and Canada, celebrated on different days. Friends and family gather together to share a feast and reflect upon and be thankful for everything that has passed over the last year.

The autumn harvest feast shared between Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians in 1621 is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the American colonies. Days of thanksgiving were long before celebrated in Europe and by native Americans, but this harvest meal became a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. A national Thanksgiving Day was formally proclaimed in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, to be held each November.

Send a Thanksgiving card to your friends here.

Hanukkah – Dec 2
In Hebrew, the word “Hanukkah” means “dedication,” and the holiday celebrates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE after the Jews’ 165 B.C.D. victory over the Hellenist Syrians. Antiochus, the Greek King of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods.

When the holy Temple was reclaimed by the Jews, they celebrated by lighting the menorah in the Temple. They only had enough oil to light the menorah for one day, however miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days. Today Jews celebrate Hanukkah for eight days by lighting candles in a menorah every night, thus commemorating the eight-day miracle. The celebrations often include games, gifts, traditional foods and rituals including the daily lighting of a series of lights. The holiday is also known as the “Festival of Lights.”

Send a Hanukkah card to your friends here.

Hijra New Year – Dec 7
The Islamic New Year is the day that marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, the first year was the year during which the emigration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra, occurred. Each numbered year is designated either H for Hijra or AH for the Latin anno Hegirae (in the year of the Hijra). A limited number of years before Hijra (BH) are used to date events related to Islam, such as the birth of Muhammad in 53 BH.

Send a Hijra card to your friends here.

Bodhi Day – Dec 8
Bodhi Day commemorates the day that the historical Buddha experienced enlightenment, also known as Bodhi. According to tradition, Siddhartha Gautauma had forsaken years of extreme ascetic practices and resolved to sit under a Pipul tree and simply meditate until he found the root of suffering, and how to liberate one’s self from it. Traditions vary, but all traditions agree that as the Morning Star rose in the sky in the early morning, the third watch of the night, Siddhartha finally found the answers he sought and became Enlightened, and experienced Nirvana. Having done so, Siddhartha now became a Buddha or “Awakened One”. Services and traditions vary amongst Buddhist sects, but all services commemorate the Buddha’s achievement of Nirvana, and what this means for Buddhism today.

Send a Bodhi Day card to your friends here.

Christmas – Dec 25
Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Traditions vary across cultures, but can include exchanging gifts, caroling, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. Read more about worldwide Christmas traditions here.

Send a Christmas card to your friends here.

Kwanzaa – Dec 26
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University after the Watts riots in Los Angeles. The intention of Kwanzaa was to bring African-Americans together as a community. Kwanzaa combines aspects from several different “first fruit” harvest celebrations across Africa, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, and is celebrated over seven nights. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (candleholder), then one of the seven principles is discussed. The principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in Swahili) are values of African culture and include Unity, Self-determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.

Celebrations often include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal. An African feast, called a Karamu, is held on December 31.

Send a Kwanzaa card to your friends here.

New Year’s Eve – Dec 31
New Year’s Eve, the final day of the Gregorian year, is celebrated globally, in many different ways. In Austria at exactly midnight, all radio and television programs broadcast the sound of the Pummerin (bell of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna), and right after that the “Donauwalzer” (The Blue Danube) by Johann Strauss II is played. Brazilians usually dress in white, to bring good luck into the new year. In Denmark, people go around town and throw old dishes at their friends and families doors. The amount of broken cutlery heaped at a door is a measure of the popularity of the owner. In Ecuador, effigies of people and events from the past year are lit on fire to symbolize burning away of the past year and welcoming of the New Year. You can read more about global traditions here.

Send a New Year’s Eve card to your friends here.

What are your traditions? Leave a comment and let us know.