Honoring Winter Traditions and Cultures Around the World
With the transition of fall into winter, folks prepare not only for a drop in temperatures, but also for a busy holiday season. While you prepare for your own traditions, I encourage you to ask the people in your life about what and how they celebrate!
Noche Buena, December 24, 2025
Noche Buena, which is Spanish for “good night,” is one variety of Christmas Eve celebrations observed across once-colonies of the Spanish Empire. Spanish colonization brought with it the spread of Catholicism to said colonies, resulting in new religious practices that melded and were passed down within individual families and society writ large. Some countries with Noche Buena practices include Mexico and the Philippines.
Celebrations typically involve attending midnight Mass or home worship and the gathering of family. In many families, Christmas celebration is focused entirely on Noche Bunea, with Christmas Day being a day for eating leftovers from the night before and watching old holiday movies on Univision or Telemundo.
Christmas, December 25, 2025
Christmas is a Christian tradition celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Widely celebrated by various Chrisitan denominations across the world to the point of cultural dominance in Western countries, the day is celebrated by both Christians and non-Christians. Whether you call it a bank holiday or federal holiday, Christmas is a day where many populations interrupt the bustle of daily life to worship and spend time with family (and for those who cannot stop and celebrate on the on Dec. 25th, they find a day close by to observe).
Several YWCA team members share how they celebrate Christmas. In Italian American families, the Feast of Seven Fishes is a tradition where seven different seafood dishes are prepared and enjoyed with your loved ones (while origins of the Feast point to it being a Christmas Eve tradition, the Feast has become part of the Christmas Day practice for many). Other families prepare typical American holiday meals featuring a meat/protein, rolls, mashed potatoes, and sweet treats. Some team members attend Christmas Day Mass and extend their worship within their home celebrations. With others, the emphasis is on their loved ones and taking time to be together.
New Years Eve, December 31st, 2025
New Year’s Eve is the day before we enter the new year, a time often marked by reflection, celebration, and anticipation. In some Black American traditions, eating lucky foods such as black-eyed peas is thought to bring prosperity in the year ahead. In many Latino households, it is customary to eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, one for each month to invite good luck.
Common traditions for New Year’s Eve include gathering with loved ones, enjoying festive meals, and waiting for the clock to strike midnight, while watching the ball drop in New York City or fireworks to ring in the new year.
Three Kings Day/Día de Reyes, January 6th, 2026
Three Kings Day/Día de Reyes is another Chrisitan celebration, albeit with less widespread adoption by the secular crowd. Also known as the Epiphany, Christians understand this day as the when three wise men (Magi) visit baby Jesus.
This is another holiday with a strong foothold in Spanish-speaking countries. Some YWCA team members shared that their family gathers for Día de Reyes with children receiving gifts and everyone enjoying a slice of Rosca de Reyes, or King cake. Tiny baby figurines are hidden throughout the Rosca, and whoever gets one in their slice must make tamales and host a party of February 2nd, known as Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas).
Ramadan, February 17-March 18, 2026
Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month in Islam. Unlike the other holidays listed in this post, the Ramadan celebration changes yearly because it does not follow the Gregorian calendar, rather the Hijri calendar. The Hijri is the religious lunar calendar that lays out when Muslim holidays and rituals take place. Ramadan is a period of “fasting, reflection, and giving” (Muslim Hands USA).
Ramadan provides both a “reset and an opportunity for heightened spiritual focus.” While fasting a major component, being able to break fast with your loved ones is a crucial component, along with prayer.
Conclusion
Take time this year to ask friends, coworkers, and neighbors about their traditions. Listening with curiosity and respect helps us better understand one another and strengthens the sense of community that carries us into the new year.
