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Home , Kwanzaa

Seasons Greetings Across Cultures in Ocean County

During the winter holiday season, several different kinds of traditions are oDbserved throughout the county. The Ocean County Library celebrates diversity throughout the year with different multicultural programs for kids that highlight holidays and special events. The libraryʼs Island Heights branch will celebrate all of the holidays on Dec. 11 at 4:00 p.m. with a program that focuses on the spirit of giving as it relates to , and Kwanzaa. Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable foods to donate to people in need (see event listings for details and registration information). On the 12th, beginning at 2 p.m., the Long Beach Island branch celebrates “Winterfest” to get everyone in the holiday spirit for the coming season. At the Manchester branch on Dec. 15 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., kids and their parents can stroll through a “winter wonderland,” complete with special holiday characters, set up inside the library. On Dec. 16, the Lakewood branch presents “Boysʼ Night Out: Hanukkah Jam,” an acoustic musical event to which guests are invited to bring their instruments and join in. The jam begins at 7 p.m. and kosher refreshments are provided. The Toms River branch invites families and kids to come listen to Kwanzaa stories and make Kwanzaa-related crafts on Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m. Kwanzaa is a holiday started in 1966 by a professor of Africana Studies at the California State University named Dr. . He created the seven-day festival (Dec. 26 through Jan. 1) in response to the previous yearʼs in Los Angeles, Cal., to unite African- in celebration of family, community and culture. Each of the seven days has a corresponding principle: unity; self-determination; collective work and responsibility; cooperative economics; purpose; creativity; and faith. “Kwanzaa … speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense,” according to Karenga. The historic Strand Theatre in Lakewood presents “Irish Christmas in America” on Thursday, Dec. 10, featuring the traditional music group Téada, with vocalist Seamus Begley, harpist Grainne Hambley, uilleann pipes player (bagpiper) Tommy Martin and guest dancer Brian Cunningham. Tickets are $25 and show time is 8 p.m. Visit strand.org for more information and to purchase tickets. For families with smaller children, on Saturday, Dec. 12, the Pushcart Players theater ensemble will perform “A Season of Miracles” at OceanFirst Theaterʼs Stafford Township Arts Center in Manahawkin. Educational and entertaining for audiences of all ages (but best appreciated by kids 8 and under), the live musical theater adaptation presents holiday stories from around the world, including Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Visit njstac.com for details and to download a special companion study guide to the show. In Lakewood, a public menorah stands alongside a Christmas tree in the town center, known as the Red Square, according to Chamber of Commerce Director

Continued on page 14 13 Winter 2009-2010 Seasons Greetings from page 13 Maureen Stankowitz. The menorah is lighted each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, which always begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev; this year it begins at sundown on Dec. 12. Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah), or the “Festival of Lights,” celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after it was desecrated by the forces of the King of Syria, Antiochus IV, in the second century BCE (or Before Common Era, a designation used in Jewish history), according to Philip Altland of the Reform Jewish Congregation in Barnegat. “The congregation lights the menorah in front of the Barnegat municipal building on the erev, or eve of Hanukkah, every year,” according to the congregationʼs president, Cyndy Friedland. “After singing songs and saying appropriate prayers, they share latkes (potato pancakes) and doughnuts with the public to celebrate the holiday,” she said. Altland further explained: “The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the ʻlighting of the house within,ʼ but rather for the ʻillumination of the house without,ʼ so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holidayʼs miracle. Accordingly, lamps are set up at a prominent window or near the door leading to the street.” Perhaps surprisingly to those of other faiths, “Hanukkah, traditionally speaking, is a minor Jewish holiday,” Altland said, “as indicated by the lack of restrictions on work, other than a few minutes after lighting the candles.” It has, however, become akin to in its role as a symbol of Jewish identity. In both the Israeli and North American versions of Hanukkah, the defining concepts of the holiday are national liberation and religious freedom, he added. Barnegatʼs Reform Jewish Congregation, Shaʼarey Ha-Yam, meaning “Gates of the Sea,” was formed six years ago under Friedlandʼs leadership. The group meets twice a month at the Lutheran Church of The Holy Spirit in Manahawkin but is looking for a new, permanent home. The congregationʼs rabbi is Kim Geringer, who came from the Union of Reform Judaism in New York City, Friedland explained. For those looking for more traditional holiday activities to enjoy with family, Ship Bottomʼs 30th annual Christmas parade will make its way along Long Beach Boulevard between 5th and 25th Streets on Dec. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. Also, on Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christkindlmarkt comes to the Tuckerton Seaport. Visitors can enjoy an old-fashioned Christmas celebration complete with carolers, roasted chestnuts and mulled cider; hear live entertainment, see demonstrations and sample food and wine from Valenzano Winery; shop among more than 100 crafters and vendors under a giant tent; even take a ride in a horse-drawn cart or on a carousel. On Dec. 13, the Community Chorus of Ocean County College presents “An English Christmas” with the music of 19th-century British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The concert will take place at 2 p.m. at Toms River High School North. And letʼs not forget New Yearʼs! Seaside Heights welcomes the with First Night Ocean County, on the boardwalk from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 31. The event features free entertainment, prizes from local merchants and fireworks for everyone to enjoy at 5:30 p.m.

Please see the event listings for details on the events mentioned in this article.

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