Food and Festive Flavours
This sweet fried treat is eaten during Hanukkah to honour the importance of oil in the holiday’s story.
What are sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts)
Evergreen branches used during Yule celebrations symbolize this enduring idea
What is resilience/life through winter
Many Christian communities observe this four-week season of reflection and anticipation before Christmas
What is Advent?
The winter solstice marks this astronomical moment celebrated by both Pagan/Wiccan and many secular traditions.
What is the shortest day/longest night of the year?
Winter gatherings in many Muslim-majority cultures emphasize khidma, an ethic focused on this value.
What is service to others/hospitality?
Pagan Yule feasts often include hearty breads, berries, and mulled drinks to symbolize this seasonal theme.
What is abundance/returning warmth?
During Diwali, many families create colourful floor art called this, symbolizing welcome and prosperity
What is rangoli?
Some Muslim communities honour this winter-adjacent tradition of hospitality, tea-sharing, and neighbourly warmth, deeply rooted in cultural – not religious – practice across regions like Turkey, Lebanon, and North Africa.
What is winter hospitality/winder majlis tradition?
The story of the Magi visiting the newborn Jesus is celebrated on January 6th, known as this Christian feast.
What is Epiphany
Diwali’s lights, sometimes extending into the early winter season, symbolize this inner force overcoming negativity.
What is the triumph of light/good over darkness?
This Indigenous celebration across parts of Canada includes feasting on Bannock, storytelling, and honouring ancestors during the Longest Night
What is a Winter Solstice/Midwinter celebration?
These three objects often appear in Nativity sets as a reminder of ancient travellers and their symbolic offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh
What are the gifts of the Magi?
This log, historically burned through the longest night in Pagan traditions, now often becomes a decorated symbol or dessert:
What is the Yule Log?
In some Islamic traditions, the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad is honoured during winder months, known as this event.
What is Isra and Mi’raj?
Hanukkah’s lights symbolize this quality embodied by the oil that lasted far longer then expected.
What is perseverance?
During Ramadan, which sometimes falls in winter, families often break fast with dates, a practice called this.
What is iftar?
Families light this object each night of Hanukkah
What is the menorah or hanukkiah
During many Hindu winter festivals, this small clay lamp symbolizes inner light, self-knowledge, and dispelling negativity.
What is a diya?
The Hanukkah story centres on this group who rebelled against Seleucid rule and reclaimed the Temple.
Who are the Maccabees?
Pagan winter alters often include both holly and oak symbols, representing this cyclical truth.
What is balance?
Many Hindu families prepare sesame sweets and rice dishes during this January harvest festival.
What is Makar Sankranti or Pongal
In secular winter celebrations, twinkling lights in public spaces often represent this universal seasonal aspiration.
What is hope?
This spinning four-sided toy carries Hebrew letters symbolizing “a great miracle happened there”.
What is a dreidel?
Diwali, sometimes extending into early winter in some regions, retells stories of light’s triumph, including the return of this king to Ayodhya.
Who is Rama?
This value is symbolized by the Advent wreath’s glowing light, representing anticipation of something sacred drawing near:
What is hope?