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Join Live: Home for the Holidays: Our Travels & Traditions

A thousand years ago, nearly everyone stayed home in the months between the fall harvest and the spring planting. In all cultures, celebrations took place, most evolving from pagan rituals. Our most cherished holiday traditions have their origin in Norse, Roman and Greek mythology. In this program we explore many cultural traditions, including the Buddhist Bodhi Day, the Islamic Mawlid el-Nabi and Hanukkah—the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Everything changed with the coming of the industrial age, yet our traditions and the pull of hearth and home remained strong. We rushed to go “home for the holidays,” or at least to yearn to do so. Crowded roads, trains and planes ruled the day, and winter weather often ruined plans. We look at these changes, and we also look back a century to a time when World War One paused for a Christmas truce. A rise in consumerism, and a more secular approach to gift-giving, led to Cyber Monday and Black Friday. We look at some events that occurred in those years when Mother Nature did its worst to keep people away from their goals. In the end, we may once again realize that “for the holidays we can’t beat home sweet home!”

This program will take place online on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a link to the Zoom webinar at least one hour in advance of the program. If the event is full, or if you prefer, you can watch the event live streamed on SchaumburgLibrary.tv.

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