By Melissa Kayko
Special to The State News
Every year, Muslims end a month of fasting during Ramadan, which is signaled by the light of the new moon to begin a celebration of Eid al-Fitr, when followers spend time with family and attend special prayer meetings.
Centuries ago, wagon wheels were hung from ceilings and adorned with candles to create the first Christmas advent wreaths.
Hanukkah is marked by the lighting of candles on the menorah, while the celebration of African Americans' heritage, Kwanzaa, uses candles to represent seven principles to live out in daily life.
The Hindu holiday Diwali is almost always capped off by an explosion of fireworks.
These celebrations were brought together at the second annual "Lights to Remember" event at the Communication Arts and Sciences Building on Monday because of the significance of lights they share. The event also showcased the differences of the holidays that fall in the last two months of the calendar year.
"The 'Lights to Remember' is not to try to convert people, but we work with all of these people who celebrate these holidays," said Sandra Combs Birdiett, College of Communication Arts and Sciences multicultural affairs director, who organized the event.
During a presentation about Kwanzaa, George Pitchford explained the meaning of seven candles used to represent seven principles of the celebration. Every year, he celebrates Kwanzaa with close friends and family, where each person shares a story about his or her cultural heritage.
"Kwanzaa is relatively new — it started in 1966," Pitchford said. "The '60s (were) a turbulent time, and African Americans wanted to pull together something to allow us to understand our cultural heritage."
Esra Bayraktar, an MSU Turkish linguistics instructor who gave a presentation, explained the traditions of Ramadan and the festival of Eid. In Turkey, people will walk down the streets with drums in the early morning hours to awaken people to begin celebrations that mark the end of fasting, she said.
"The holiday makes you sympathize with those who have little to eat and make you realize everything we have is a blessing," she said.
Often, there are misconceptions about the Islamic culture, she said.
"The Islam's image is very bad right now, and people do not know them correctly. They are always imaging terrorists," she said. "People don't know Ramadan and the real context. Fasting is about dedication, not punishment. It's a chance to really appreciate the things we have."
The Rev. Mark Inglot, the priest at St. John's Student Parish, presented information about the history of Christmas and how it was linked with the winter solstice. A brief explanation of Diwali was given by Birdiett because a speaker was unable to attend.
Each culture was explained through its holiday, said Lisa Hinkley, a field career consultant at MSU, who attended the event.
"Understanding other people is a way to be respectful and do things that are useful," Hinkley said. "The general theme of all the presentations is that they all represent valuable lessons and our place in society."
