This week has been stressful, to say the least. Anticipating the election has been like anticipating a holiday, only in a dreadful way. But with that behind us (for better or for worse), perhaps we can continue to focus more on what actually makes change.

I am a firm believer that one must engage with the government and hold representatives and decision makers accountable. Being actively engaged in our community and participating in the conversations that guide and shape the direction of our societies is essential for healthy living together. Yet being in a minority position (religious or otherwise) is one reason to avoid involvement or become weary of it.

I’ve been there. I’ve been there in work settings, church settings, board settings and school settings, etc. It is exhausting to always have to make the effort to adapt or assimilate in order to be able to have a say at the table. Let’s be honest, many of these contexts tolerate minorities, at best, and are harsh towards them in not the worst of circumstances. 

Tolerance is a term I grew up very familiar with. As a Quaker, my grandma made sure I always knew we must tolerate others. However, as I grew older, I realized that tolerance didn’t do enough for me. Not only did I often still feel picked on for being a Protestant minority in a mostly Catholic context, but I also didn’t want to just tolerate people; I wanted to get to know them. I wanted to understand their beliefs, what they thought and why. To tolerate them communicated that I was simply putting up with them. I wanted to know them, understand them and create a relationship based on this.

The effort that people make towards religious and other minorities often feels so minimal, compared to the effort they have to make functioning in the greater society. According to the CIA, the United States’ religious composition is comprised of “Protestant 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jewish 1.9%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.6%, other Christian 0.9%, Muslim 0.9%, Jehovah’s Witness 0.8%, Buddhist 0.7%, Hindu 0.7%, other 1.8%, unaffiliated 22.8%, don’t know/refused 0.6% (2014 est.).” 

Although I’d like to point out these numbers are 10 years old, over 70% of  the United States’ population  is affiliated with a Christian denomination. Taking out the about 23% of unaffiliated individuals, that still leaves about 6% of the population that has a different religious affiliation and would very much be considered a religious minority. But how many of us would know any of these religious minorities’ beliefs, thoughts or even holidays?

As our own Christian holiday season approaches, I invite you to consider familiarizing yourself with some of the major holidays of the main religious minorities among the U.S. faithful.

1. Hanukkah (Judaism)

“One of the most widely observed Jewish holidays, [Hanukkah] is a festive eight-day celebration” that this year will begin on December 25th and end on January 2nd, according to ReformJudaism.org. Although not a “biblical” holiday, its story comes from the books of the Maccabees, which can also be found in the Christian Apocrypha. 

2. Eid al-Fitr (Islam)

Congressional Research Service tells us:  “This Eid is often celebrated for one day each year at the end of the … month of Ramadan, during which many Muslim adults fast daily from sunrise to sunset and give charity to the poor and needy. Fasting for Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.” There are usually big feasts with family and friends for breaking the last day of fast.

3. Eid al-Adha (Islam)

“Annually, nearly 2 million Muslims participate in the Hajj [pilgrimage] from approximately the 10th to the 13th of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month in the Islamic calendar… Although both Eid holidays are important, Muslims generally consider Eid al-Adha the holiest festival on the Islamic calendar.” It is a holiday of remembrance of the sacrifice Ibrahim (or Abraham to Christians) was going to make to God by offering his own son before God intervened in deliverance.

4. Rosh HaShanah (Judaism)

It is the New Year of the Jewish calendar. As a time of prayer and self-reflection, this “holiday marks the beginning of a 10-day period, known as the Yamim Nora-im (“Days of Awe” or “High Holidays”), ushered in by Rosh HaShanah and culminating with Yom Kippur (the “Day of Atonement”).” It is usually celebrated around the September-October months. 

5. Passover

Although Christians are well used to hearing about the Passover meal, the still-commemorated holiday is “the Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom and family [remembering] the Exodus from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago.”