By Gina Segall ‘12
Co-Science & Tech Editor

In this corner of the world, the holiday season encompasses the celebrations of Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa. Young children are taught about the significance of these holidays from a very young age. However, across the globe, other holidays with fascinating histories exist unbeknownst to many of us, despite living in the multi-ethnic metropolis that is Los Angeles.

St. Lucia’s Day — Celebrated in Sweden, Norway and the Swedish-speaking areas of Norway on Dec. 13, this holiday honors St. Lucia, one of Christianity’s first martyrs. Scandinavian towns often elect their own “St. Lucia” to lead a procession on the holiday. To celebrate at home, families will often have their eldest daughter dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods to the family in observation of the holiday.

Hogmanay — Scottish New Year is celebrated with huge street festivals and often with ceilidhs (pronounced “kayli”), traditional Scottish dances. Fire ceremonies such as torchlight parades and fireball swinging take place to represent the light of the new year. It is celebrated on the same day as our New Year’s celebration.

Saint Stephen’s Day — Though it celebrates one of Christianity’s first martyrs (like St. Lucia’s Day), the holiday relates to Celtic myth that says a robin, which represents the new year, killed the wren, which represented the old year. Traditionally, on Saint Stephen’s Day, young boys would search for a wren and either catch it or wait until it had died from exhaustion. The dead wren would then be tied to the top of a pole or holly bush, which would be embellished with ribbons or colored paper. The boys would then take the wren from door to door and sing a song, asking for money, which would later be used to hold a celebration for their whole village. The holiday is celebrated on days ranging from August to January depending on the country, and it is still celebrated in Ireland, Catalonia, Serbia and Hungary.

Seijin no hi (Coming of Age Day) — Taking place on the second Monday in January, Coming of Age Day is honored in Japan as a celebration of all men and women who will become 20 years old that year. Twenty is the legal age in Japan for voting, smoking and drinking. Local governments host ceremonies at town halls, and the young people also attend ceremonies held at shrines.