{"id":1990,"date":"2015-06-25T11:54:26","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T15:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/demo.uuatheme.org\/?page_id=1990"},"modified":"2025-04-13T16:45:24","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T21:45:24","slug":"holidays-and-traditions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.communityuuchurch.org\/uua\/services2\/holidays-and-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Holidays and Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holidays<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The holiday celebrations at Community Unitarian Universalist Church reflect and honor the six\u00a0sources<\/a><\/span>\u00a0of our faith.<\/p>\n

Like many Unitarian Universalist<\/a> congregations, our church celebrates Christian holidays like\u00a0Christmas, Jewish holidays like\u00a0Passover, and Pagan\u00a0Winter Solstice, among others. Our holiday services use the stories and traditions creatively, encouraging us to reflect on our shared humanity and our commitment to the greater good.<\/p>\n

Celebrations unique to Unitarian Universalism include the Flower Ceremony, traditionally held in the spring, and Water Communion or Ingathering celebrated\u00a0in August or September to mark the beginning of the liturgical year.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to religious holidays, we also honor secular holidays including Earth Day,\u00a0Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Labor Day,\u00a0Indigenous Peoples Day, and Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Traditions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Turnings<\/strong> \u2013 Around the start of new year, we acknowledge the events of the past year in the \u201cTurnings\u201d service. This service is intentionally focused on change and transition: we reflect on the past year, but look ahead to the future.<\/p>\n

Youth Sunday<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A yearly service prepared and led by the senior high group.<\/p>\n

Coming of Age<\/strong> \u2013 CUUC\u2019s eighth and ninth graders present their credo statements\u00a0from the pulpit, as the culmination of their Coming of Age religious education program.<\/p>\n

Flower\u00a0Ceremony\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Sometimes referred to as the Flower Communion, this is an annual ritual that celebrates the beauty of human uniqueness, diversity, and community. CUUC traditionally holds this service on Mother’s Day. In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower (or flowers), which are placed on the altar or in a shared vase. The congregation and minister bless the flowers, which are then redistributed, with each person selecting a different flower than the one they brought, and presenting it to another congregant to take home with them.<\/p>\n

Ingathering and Water Communion<\/strong> \u2013 We hold our Water Communion in the fall, serving as our Ingathering observance to begin our liturgical year. The congregation comes back together, many of us having traveled or had other adventures during the summer. Participants bring water from their travels (or symbolic water from any source!), and contribute it to a common vessel while sharing a few words with the congregation. The waters are blessed and a portion of the co-mingled waters are saved to incorporate into the following year’s Water Communion.<\/p>\n

Blessing of the Backpacks<\/strong> \u2013 Traditionally held at the start of the school year in the fall, kids of all ages are welcome to bring their backpacks, purses, laptop bags, briefcases, satchels, gym bags (or anything else) to the altar to be blessed with love and good tidings for the coming year.<\/p>\n

Solstice and Yuletide Celebration<\/strong> \u2013 Acknowledges the ever-changing cycle of nature and our relationship to the natural world.<\/p>\n

Candlelight Christmas Eve, with Lessons & Carols<\/strong> \u2013 An inter-generational service for all ages, where we share the stories of this magical night with singing, readings, and a candlelight communion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holidays The holiday celebrations at Community Unitarian Universalist Church reflect and honor the six\u00a0sources\u00a0of our faith. Like many Unitarian Universalist congregations, our church celebrates Christian holidays like\u00a0Christmas, Jewish holidays like\u00a0Passover, and Pagan\u00a0Winter Solstice, among others. Our holiday services use the stories and traditions creatively, encouraging us to reflect on our shared humanity and our commitment … Continue reading Holidays and Traditions<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":1800,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"class_list":["post-1990","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nHolidays and Traditions - Community Unitarian Universalist Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.communityuuchurch.org\/uua\/services2\/holidays-and-traditions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Holidays and Traditions - Community Unitarian Universalist Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holidays The holiday celebrations at Community Unitarian Universalist Church reflect and honor the six\u00a0sources\u00a0of our faith. 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