How are different faiths celebrating this holiday season?
Utah State University’s student body is made up of a variety of faith backgrounds from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Buddhism. Each faith and family is celebrating the holiday season a little differently, and the Interfaith Student Association is giving students a chance to share their own traditions and learn about other unique cultures.
Ellie Standifird is a third-year student studying psychology. This is Standifird’s first semester on the ISA.
“We’re here talking about faith and things we believe in — values we have,” Standifird said. “We’re trying to find that common ground. Most of our activities are centered around interfaith dialogue and learning how to respect people with different opinions and different faiths.”
Standifird is a member of the LDS church. She joined ISA to be exposed to a variety of religions and gain new insights on the nature of spirituality.
“I like to learn about different religions,” Standifird said. “I would consider myself a member of the church for the most part, but there are things I agree with and don’t agree with, so I like to learn about lots of religions and incorporate that into my spirituality.”
One tradition unique to the LDS faith is the Light the World campaign, a service-oriented event focused on “the ways the people around you have shared their light with you and others,” according to jesusthechrist.in.
“It’s all about loving people and serving people,” Standifird said. “There’s fun activities you can do each day to serve others. There’s a big focus on loving people.”
August Groesbeck is a fourth-year student studying cultural anthropology. She serves as the vice-president of ISA. Groesbeck has been a member since her first year at USU and said ISA has been an important piece of her own faith journey.
“We’re looking towards bringing people together regardless of faith background, whether you’re atheist, secular or agnostic,” Groesbeck said. “We want to get not only an understanding but knowledge and respect. We want to have a safe space for people to freely talk and communicate.”
Groesbeck is an eclectic spiritualist, a belief system with no “founder, leaders, congregation or organization,” according to eclecticspirituality.blog.
“It is not looking at any one belief pattern, doctrine or scripture,” Groesbeck said. “It is a very personalized path, where you’re looking at various cultures, ethos and philosophies. You can separate yourself from things that you aren’t fully comfortable with or don’t feel pertain to you.”
Groesbeck identifies deeply with the individualized nature of eclectic spiritualism and the breadth it allows for those who prescribe to it.
“Eclectic spiritualism has helped me out a lot,” Groesbeck said. “Growing up in the faith I was raised in, it felt like an all-or-nothing situation where I couldn’t have a lot of my questions answered.”
ISA meetings typically begin with a quote or a song shared by each member that speaks to them. The faiths of each member aren’t shared till the very end in order to eliminate any pre-existing biases. The meeting is focused solely on the insights shared.
Different traditions and beliefs are also discussed during ISA meetings, one of which being the yule log.
“Initially it started from a different pre-Christian tradition,” Groesbeck said. “The yule log — where you would cut down a log and decorate it with herbs, spices and fruits — you would burn that on the winter solstice because it’s the shortest day and the longest night of the year.”
The winter solstice ritual of burning the yule log originated from Germanic paganism during the 17th century, though centuries later it was adopted into the Christian faith.
This tradition would inspire the creation of the popular Christmas dessert, buche de Noel, or yule log cake. The buche de Noel is akin to a large Swiss roll.
“Every year, I make a buche de Noel cake from scratch completely,” Groesbeck said. “Then you decorate it to look like a log. So you have your own little log in a more creative, modern way.”
Andrew Hunting, president of ISA, is a fourth-year student studying data analytics. Hunting works on coming up with new ideas for ISA events, outreach and facilitating meetings.
In Hunting’s work as a missionary and on ISA, he has learned about a plethora of Christmas-related traditions, one of which being the making of ponche. Ponche is a fruit punch consisting of oranges, apples, pears and spices that is then simmered for 24 hours.
“They put entire apples in this massive pot,” Hunting said. “They throw in entire things of cinnamon sticks, cloves and straight sugar cane into the pot. It has such a cool flavor, I don’t even know what to compare it to.”
The beverage draws its roots from India; However, the drink became popular to serve around the holidays in Latinx communities such as Mexico, according to yourstory.tenement.org.
The drink can be frequently seen during Las Posadas, a religious festival in Latin America that commemorates Mary and Joseph’s life and the birth of Jesus. A procession of carolers and children is a common sight during Las Posadas.
“There’s one tradition where all these children carry around a Christmas tree,” Hunting said. “They get behind this Christmas tree, and everyone walks around the village all night and all day playing music, singing and dancing.”
The holiday season brings not only a break from classes, but a chance to celebrate these time-honored traditions with family and friends.
According to Hunting, ISA is a space to learn about these different practices and to find we are more alike than we are different.
“I wish there was a way I could communicate to the students at USU just how important this club is,” Hunting said. “I think a lot of students have apprehension in coming because they don’t want to be put on the spot. I would encourage them to put that aside, step out of your comfort zone and be willing to meet your neighbor and learn what matters to them.”