Holidays at First Unitarian

The holiday celebrations in Unitarian Universalist congregations reflect the six Sources of our faith. Our holiday services use the stories and traditions from these sources creatively, calling us to our deeper humanity and our commitment to the good. Here are some of the holidays we have and continue to celebrate in our community:

Winter Holidays

Every year we celebrate the Christian tradition of Christmas, the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah, and the Pagan tradition of Yule on December 24th during our Vespers service. We gather to sing carols, listen to the tale of the eight nights of Hanukkah, and maybe even light a Yule fire. After service, join us for winter holiday treats before heading out into your magical night!

Diwali

Diwali (or Divali) is the Indian festival of lights, and India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (or deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects us from spiritual darkness. In addition to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs also celebrate Diwali in such countries as Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Singapore.

Easter

For many Unitarian Universalists, the resurrection narrative is often more metaphorical than literal. Many kinds of resurrection can be emphasized: rebirth of nature; resurrecting dreams and hopes; resurrecting dead relationships. In a general sense, the ultimate triumph of life over death. Hallelujah!

Fall Equinox

A time to remember cycles, seasons, the inevitability of change. A time to make an inner turn as nature makes a turn of Her own.

Indigenous People’s Day

“Indigenous Peoples Day” reimagines Columbus Day, changing a celebration of colonialism into an opportunity to reveal historical truths about the genocide and oppression of indigenous peoples in the Americas, to organize against current injustices, and to celebrate indigenous resistance.

Samhain

Samhain (pronounced /ˈsɑːwɪn/ SAH-win or /ˈsaʊ.ɪn/ SOW-in), meaning “summer’s end,” is a celebration of the end of the harvest and the start of the coldest half of the year. For many practitioners, Samhain also is the beginning of the spiritual new year.

In the Pagan or Earth-based calendar, divided into quarters by the solstices and equinoxes, great importance is placed on “cross-quarter” days: the days that fall halfway between each solstice and equinox (or between the equinox and solstice.)

Samhain falls halfway between the Autumn Equinox (Mabon) and the Winter Solstice (Yule). In the northern hemisphere, many Pagans celebrate Samhain from sundown on October 31 through November 1. Others hold Samhain celebrations on the nearest weekend or on the Full or New Moon closest to this time. Some Pagans observe Samhain a bit later, or near November 6, to coincide more closely with the astronomical midpoint between Fall Equinox and Winter Solstice. Most Pagans in the southern hemisphere time their Samhain observances to coincide with the middle of their Autumn in late April and early May, rather than at the traditional European time of the holiday.

Spring Equinox

Usually celebrated March 21, Spring themes, including: lengthening of the days; nature coming to life again; joy; hopefulness; reawakening to ourselves after a long winter.

Congregation-Wide Traditions, Celebrations and Passages

Every Unitarian Universalist congregation has its own ways of celebrating life and marking life transitions. We share our joys and sorrows, supporting one another through difficulty and success. From birth to death, our congregations help us live with deeper gratitude, greater connection, and more reverence for life.

Weddings and memorial services

Life event services honor the people involved by reflecting their unique personalities and values. Unitarian Universalist clergy work closely with couples and loved ones to design these very special events.

Child Dedication Ceremonies

Rather than holding Christian-style baptisms or christenings, most Unitarian Universalist congregations have child dedication ceremonies for infants and children.

Child dedication ceremonies are usually crafted by the parents, the congregation’s minister, and religious educator working closely together. Many will include the following elements:

• A blessing for the new life of the child
• An expression of the parent or parents’ hopes for the child
• A promise by the congregation to support and nurture the child

If you are interested in having your child dedicated by a Unitarian Universalist minister or educator, either in your home or in the congregation, please reach out to our Minister.

Flower Communion

The Flower communion service was created by Norbert Capek (1870-1942), who founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. He introduced this special service to that church on June 4, 1923. For some time he had felt the need for some symbolic ritual that would bind people more closely together. The format had to be one that would not alienate any who had forsaken other religious traditions. The traditional Christian communion service with bread and wine was unacceptable to the members of his congregation because of their strong reaction against the Catholic faith. So he turned to the native beauty of their countryside for elements of a communion which would be genuine to them. This simple service was the result. It was such a success that it was held yearly just before the summer recess of the church. We continue this tradition in our congregation by sharing flowers with each other,

Water Communion

The Water Communion, also sometimes called Water Ceremony, was first used at a Unitarian Universalist (UU) worship service in the 1980s. First Unitarian holds a Water Communion once a year at the beginning of the new church year in August.

Members bring to the service a small amount of water from a place that is special to them. During the appointed time in the service, people one by one pour their water together into a large bowl. As the water is added, the person who brought it tells why this water is special to them. The combined water is symbolic of our shared faith coming from many different sources. It is then blessed by the congregation, and is later boiled and used when we share our joys and sorrows, and as the congregation’s “holy water” in child dedication ceremonies and similar events.

Blessing of the Animals

In the Roman Catholic tradition, October 4 is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis (1182-1226) was a monk who founded the contemporary order of Franciscans. He was known for his vow of poverty and his special connection to animals, among many other things. Many Unitarian Universalists have picked up on the Catholic tradition of blessing animals, particularly pets, on this day. St. Francis may receive little attention at this service, but a number of congregations, including ours, will bless pets at the service. On the Sunday closest to October 4, some of us bring our pets to church, others bring photographs of their pets; others have their pets blessed by naming them.

Stewardship Sunday

Sometimes called Canvas Sunday (or Celebration), this service often falls a few months before the congregation’s fiscal year begins, usually in March or April. A “canvass” or “pledge drive” is the concentrated moment in the congregational year when members and friends are asked to make promises of financial support to the congregation throughout the coming fiscal year.

Earth Day

Unitarian Universalism’s shared values to honor the interdependent web of all existence and acknowledge our place in it makes this a day to celebrate religiously. Themes can include: earth-centered spirituality; connecting to the divine through nature; caretaking of the environment; the interdependent web.

Transgender Day of Rememberance

Transgender Day of Remembrance (#TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 honoring the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

We celebrate and recognize important days in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) calendar, planning services and joining community events in support of the Transgender Day of Remembrance and other LGBTQ witness opportunities.