One Holiday at a Time
Let’s Enjoy, Not Conflate, Our Holidays
There is More Than One Holiday This Season!
Here in the United States, there are several holidays during the fall/winter season, and Christmas is only one of those holidays, albeit the largest. I love the diversity of cultures in America, and I love the diversity of cultural holidays.
The official “Holiday Season” generally starts at the end of October with Halloween and lasts through January 1st, New Year’s Day, although the date for Christmas in the Orthodox Church is usually January 7 (using the “Julian calendar” instead of the “Gregorian Calendar). There are many people (and companies) who feel that Christmas is the only holiday that really counts, and often talking about and selling for Christmas starts very early.
The commonly (and less commonly) celebrated religious and secular U.S. holidays in the fall and winter include:
Halloween: October 31
All Saints’ Day: November 1
Dias de la Muertas (Mexican Day of the Dead): November 1–2
Diwali (Indian Festival of Lights) October/November (the actual dates vary)
Thanksgiving: 4th Thursday of November
