Annual multicultural celebration of global winter holidays: Devali, Chanukah, Sankta Lucia, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas/Christmas, and a First Nations tradition of winter solstice.

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A Closer Look – About the Performance:

People all over the world celebrate holidays at this time of year. Many of these holidays honor the harvest, signal the New Year, or bring families together to remember the past and look forward to the future. Many holidays are also rooted in the coming of the shortest day of the year—the Winter Solstice.

Today, we often enjoy holiday traditions without knowing where they came from. We sing songs, display colored lights, and repeat special activities with friends and family. Holly wreaths, chocolate coins, sharing special foods, giving gifts, candles lit in a row— these traditions all herald the ending of one year, and the renewal and hope of looking ahead to the next.

If we look deeper, we see that these holidays carry echoes of earlier times, hundreds or thousands of years ago. At some point, the warmth of light burning in the dark plays a central role. The joy, warmth, and safety that came from these traditional gatherings kept the dark and cold at bay. They helped people understand that the sun would return and bring the promise of spring and a new year.

This original program was written by Discovery Theater Director Roberta Gasbarre in 2000. Each year it is updated and some new elements are added, keeping the experience fresh for audiences and artists alike

Please visit our Education section online to download and print a Learning Guide for Seasons of Light.