December 28, 1998

The MGH Patient Care Services' Diversity Steering Committee hosted a celebration of holiday traditions Dec. 17, throughout the Main Corridor. The event featured live music, artwork and information tables about holidays such as Kwanzaa, Ramadan and Hanukkah.

Hanukkah
Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger, of the MGH Chaplaincy, lights a menorah for the Hanukkah service held in the Chapel. Hanukkah is an eight-day festival of lights that recognizes Jerusalem's liberation from the Greeks.

Kwanzaa

Gary Collymore, RRT, of MGH Respiratory Care, hosts an information table about Kwanzaa, the African-American holiday, which intertwines African traditions with American customs. Celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa honors the principles of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Ramadan
Firdosh Pathan, RPh, of the MGH Pharmacy, offers information about Ramadan, the holiest time for Muslims. Starting Dec. 20 and ending Jan. 18, Ramadan is a special time of intensive worship, reading of the Koran, giving to charity, doing good deeds and purifying one's behavior. The end of Ramadan is marked with a celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking).