If there’s one word to describe December, it’s palpable. The final month of the year has an aura that none of its 11 predecessors possesses. There’s the warmth of overdue family gatherings. The chance to indulge that holiday sweet tooth. The joy of celebrating the religious and cultural traditions dearest to us. The unmistakable nip in the air. And, of course, the satisfaction of self-reflection and anticipation of the year ahead.

Looking to expand your seasonal sensibilities even further? Well, if travel is a path to discovery, then exploring the many celebrations of various Mid-Atlantic communities this winter could be as eye-opening as it is entertaining.

Visit Philadelphia, for example, where eight days and nights of festivities commemorate Hanukkah. Or attend one of the East Coast’s largest Kwanzaa festivals in Virginia’s vibrant capital city of Richmond. Travel to historic Bethlehem (Pennsylvania, that is), where Moravians observe Christmas with carols, candles, and a special holiday market. Or channel Charles Dickens as New Jersey’s Cape May gets decked out for its over-the-top, Victorian-style yuletide cheer. To usher in the new season, there’s also a traditional Swedish winter solstice ceremony in a centuries-old Delaware church.

Wherever you end up for your winter holidays, here’s our guide to some celebratory cities worth a visit.

Dec. 25 – Jan. 2: Hanukkah in Philadelphia

Fifty years ago, a local rabbi lit a rustic, four-foot-high menorah in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and helped popularize a now-ubiquitous national tradition: the ceremonial public lighting of outsized Hanukkah menorahs. And to this day, the City of Brotherly Love’s sizeable Jewish population continues to celebrate Judaism’s joyous eight-day Festival of Lights in a big way for residents and visitors alike.

Now it’s a city-wide affair. Catch menorah lightings at city landmarks such as Independence Hall, Rittenhouse Square, and South Philly’s Singing Fountain. Following the lighting of a giant electric menorah at the Betsy Ross House, where its namesake is said to have sewn the first American flag, the Old City Jewish Arts Center serves traditional foods like potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) and distributes Hanukkah gelt coins to kids.

Enjoy another beloved Philly tradition when menorah-topped vehicles parade through Center City and Main Line Philadelphia during their separate parades. On Dec. 28, the Chevra, a group of young Jewish professionals and graduate students, throws what’s billed as the city’s largest Hanukkah fest. The bash at Rittenhouse Square features live music, dancing, and a familiar, if secular, sartorial tradition, an ugly Hanukkah sweater contest.

While you’re in town, don’t miss the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate and the nation’s only museum dedicated to interpreting the American Jewish experience. Its collections include everything from Irving Berlin’s piano to a Liberty Bell menorah lovingly crafted by a folk artist who survived the Holocaust.

Hanukkah’s Origins: Honors the rededication of the Second Temple in ancient Jerusalem as well as the temple’s miraculously long-burning jar of purified oil.

Customs: Nightly lighting of the menorah, a candelabra whose eight flames represent the number of days the temple’s one-day supply of oil burned. Jewish households accompany the lightings with scripture readings, prayers, hymns, and special foods.

Greeting: “Chag urim sameach.” (“Happy Festival of Lights.”)

For a full schedule of Hanukkah events, see visitphilly.com.

Dec. 26–Jan. 1: Kwanzaa in Richmond

Kwanzaa, in Swahili, refers to the harvest, and it’s in this spirit of giving thanks that millions of African Americans gather annually for this seven-day celebration of family, community, and pan-African history, culture, and values. Families share meals, light symbolic candles daily, honor their ancestors, educate children about African culture, and reflect on the future.

In fact, it’s a colorful, deeply significant celebration that happens to owe its origins to a Marylander. Kwanzaa’s founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga, was born in Wicomico County on the Eastern Shore. He devised the holiday in 1966 to promote African traditions while teaching at California State University, Long Beach.

Two years ago, Karenga delivered the keynote address at one of the East Coast’s largest Kwanzaa celebrations, the Capital City Kwanzaa Festival in Richmond, Virginia, now in its 33rd year.

Hosted by the Elegba Folklore Society, Richmond’s festival distills the week-long holiday into a one-day comprehensive celebration of African culture. View the ceremonial Kwanzaa candle lighting with its affirmation of Nguzo Saba, aka the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa (more on that below).

Enjoy music and dance performances. Participate in workshops and children’s activities. Sample African-inspired cuisine at the festival’s African Market, where you can also shop for crafts, clothing, and home decor.

While in Richmond, visit the Jackson Ward Historic District. Called the birthplace of Black entrepreneurship, the neighborhood is among the largest national historic landmark districts associated with African-American history and culture, and was established before the Civil War.

Customs: Each candle lit duriing Kwanzaa represents one of the Seven Principles by which African peoples strive to live: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work & responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith).

Greeting: “Habari gani?” (“What’s the news?”) To which celebrants respond with Kwanzaa’s principle of the day.

For more information, visit efsinc.org.

Dec. 1–24: Moravian Christmas in Bethlehem

Christened “Bethlehem” on Christmas Eve of the year it was founded (1741), this eastern Pennsylvania town became the New World’s first permanent settlement for German-speaking Moravians. Dubbed “The Christmas City,” Bethlehem packs its holiday calendar with celebrations that echo these European religious roots, from simple candlelight church services to soaring choral performances and a popular holiday market called Christkindlmarkt.

The Moravian calendar begins on the first day of Advent (Sunday, Dec. 1, in 2024), when Moravians host fellowship meals called Lovefeasts, as well as special worship services and musical performances through Christmas Eve.

On that day, Bethlehem’s Central Moravian Church conveys the Christmas story as it has for centuries, with a children’s service and an evening celebration featuring hymns, choral music, a brass quintet, and the lighting of traditional beeswax candles. (Bethlehem has so many original Moravian buildings that it recently became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

Visit the Central Church and the town’s historic buildings-turned-museums throughout December to admire another moving Moravian tradition, the putz. From the German putzen (“to decorate”), these lovingly crafted, elaborate dioramas depict the story of Christ’s birth in multiple scenes using hand-carved figurines, plus rocks, moss, and other natural materials.

But there’s more. Shop aisles of artisan works at the massive Christkindlmarkt, held for six weekends beginning in mid-November, on the banks of the Lehigh River. Or explore other venues and activities: Buy a multi-pointed Moravian star at the Moravian Archives store, practice your German at a Moravian singstunde gathering (where Advent carols are sung in both German and English), or listen quietly to holiday carols in the hushed, candlelit Old Moravian Chapel, built in 1751.

Customs: Moravians traditionally use beeswax candles in religious ceremonies to symbolize purity and the light of God.

Traditional Treats: Wafer-thin Moravian sugar cookies, Moravian sugar cake, and Eastern European nut rolls and rolled kiffle cookies.

For a schedule of holiday events and tours, visit christmascity.org.

Dec. 8: Swedish Christmas in Wilmington

It’s an old Scandinavian ritual: On the shortest day of the year, the household’s eldest daughter, her head crowned with a candlelit wreath, leads her candle-carrying siblings upstairs to deliver sweet buns and coffee to their parents. The roots of this ceremonial breakfast in bed can be traced all the way back to fourth-century Italy and the times of Saint Lucy (“Santa Lucia” to Scandinavians), a Christian martyr and patron saint of the blind.

On her feast day, Dec. 13, she is honored for bringing light into the world and foretelling the end of long winter nights in a ceremony that blends pagan and Christian traditions.

Although we celebrate the winter solstice on Dec. 21, under the Julian calendar the year’s longest night was Dec. 13. In Scandinavia, it marks the traditional start of the Christmas season and is reason to reenact a simple yet elegant procession in homes and churches throughout the land. But you needn’t hop a plane to Stockholm or Oslo for the pageantry.

On the second Sunday in December, one of the nation’s most historic churches, Holy Trinity, aka the Old Swedes Historic Site, in Wilmington, Delaware, opens its doors to the public to honor Santa Lucia. Portraying her, a young woman from the community, dressed head to toe in white, leads a costumed procession down the aisles of the 326-year-old stone church, set aglow by candlelight. Lucia is followed by girls dressed in white, “star boys” (starngossar) wearing tall, pointy hats, and red-dressed elf-like helpers (tomtar), played by young children. There’s music, of course, and guests can enjoy both coffee and Swedish baked goods after the ceremonies.

Be sure to tour the adjacent Hendrickson House, an 18th-century Swedish-American home decorated for Christmas, and go holiday browsing at its gift shop. Nearby, visit the tall ship Kalmar Nyckel, which brought the first Swedish settlers to the area in 1638. Traditional Treats: Lussekatter saffron buns.

Greeting: “God Jul.” (“Merry Christmas.”)

Nov. 23–Dec. 31: Victorian Christmas in Cape May

Without the Victorians, the modern American Christmas might be unrecognizable: no roly-poly Santa Claus (hitherto a svelte Saint Nick), Christmas cards, or lavishly decorated Christmas trees. Also, no federal holiday (finally enacted in 1870), or umpteen Hollywood versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

For a deep dive into a Dickensian-era Christmas, head to Cape May, a Victorian gem on New Jersey’s southern seashore. Hundreds of preserved 19th-century buildings—ornately designed houses, hotels, inns, and businesses—make the entire city a National Historic Landmark District.

Every December, these “painted ladies” don their holiday finery and welcome visitors with candlelight tours, themed trolley rides, and street caroling. The season begins Nov. 23 with a Christmas tree lighting at Holiday HQ, aka the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, a prominent Cape May physician’s 18-room mansion-turned-museum.

Register early for the most coveted ticket in town: Cape May’s annual self-guided Christmas Candlelight House Tours (Dec. 7, 14, and 21)—you’ll stroll streets lit by gas lamps and a multitude of twinkly lights while visiting select homes, B&Bs, and the Physick mansion, all decked out for the holidays.

If you can’t snag tickets, don’t despair; There are yuletide outings aplenty. BYO blanket and hop on Cape May’s open-air Jolly Trolley for one of their themed tours, during which you can admire holiday lights, hear from Mrs. Claus, or learn about the spirits who haunt the Physick Estate to this day. Swing by Cape May’s favorite Enchanted Vendor Village at Congress Hall, an iconic local resort once frequented by presidents and politicians. And don’t miss the West Cape May Christmas Parade, with festive floats parading through town on Dec. 7.

Victorian Customs: Parlor games were popular holiday amusements, including two depicted in A Christmas Carol: Blindman’s Buff (aka Bluff) and the guessing game Yes or No.

Traditional Treats: The yuletide tradition of wassail—a hot beverage of cider or wine with spices—is said to have originated as a pagan tradition, paying homage to the fruits of fall harvests that helped provide sustenance through the dead of winter. Now tied to caroling and Christmas, the drink can be enjoyed at the town’s historic Cold Spring Village during Wassail Day, an afternoon festival with wagon rides, wreath contests, and crafts on Dec. 7.

For more holiday happenings, consult the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, capemaymac.org.

Looking Ahead…

Jan. 29: Lunar New Year in Washington, D.C.
Asian Americans will welcome the Year of the Snake in 2025 when the Lunar New Year begins on Jan. 29. Join the festivities in the Nation’s Capital, including a return performance by the renowned National Ballet of China at the Kennedy Center Opera House, special family activities at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art and its American Art Museum, and the popular, ultra colorful Lunar New Year Parade through the streets of Chinatown.

For a calendar of events, visit washington.org.

Jan. 27: Lailat at Miraj in Lanham
On this first major Islamic holiday of the new year, Muslims commemorate the journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem by reflecting on his life and teachings. At the nonprofit Diyanet Center of America in Lanham, Maryland—its magnificent exterior reflecting classical Ottoman architecture—and other mosques around the Washington metro area, congregations offer special prayers and recite passages from the Qur’an.

Learn more about the Islamic faith at the Islamic Center of D.C. during the holy month of Ramadan, from Feb. 28 through Mar. 30, during which community members fast daily from sunrise to sundown, breaking their abstinence with a communal meal (iftar) and holding nightly communal prayers (taraweeh).

Located on Embassy Row in the Nation’s Capital, the center serves practicing Muslims and promotes a better understanding of the faith by opening its mosque to all for regular prayers.

It started more as an act of defiance, in 2018, the very first year we opened up our home. We had always had a few friends over to celebrate Hanukkah, but that year I had posted on Facebook that everyone was welcome to stop by, eat potato latkes, spin some dreidels, and help light our menorahs at a multi-day open house that lasted almost all eight nights of Hanukkah. It was less than two months since the horrific Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and I had decided the best way to challenge antisemitism was to fill our home with friends (mostly non-Jewish) who could celebrate with us and learn about our holiday.

And I wasn’t going to let our small house, already maxed out on space, with its six occupants plus a dog, stop me from inviting the world. “But how many people are coming?” my husband asked as the open house dates approached. I’d simply shrug my shoulders and place another bulk order for dreidels.

The start of Hanukkah fluctuates because of the Jewish lunar calendar. And so, the 25th of Kislev—the start of the holiday—can be anywhere from late November to the end of December and sometimes even dip its toe in January. In 2018, it started the first week of December, so it wasn’t competing with a million holiday parties. Over a few nights, we hosted 37 people. The next year, in 2019, it grew to 84 people. My husband made around 250 latkes, and we lit 176 candles over eight days and across four menorahs.

It was often standing-room-only as friends packed into our family room, spilling up the steps and into the kitchen. If someone offered to bring something, I said yes. So we ended up with tons of disparate food and drink—cookies, wine, salads, limoncello, chicken nuggets, babka—along with lots of smiles, questions, and love.

I laid out a hodgepodge of paper plates and Hanukkah decorations I’d amassed over the last few decades. It was as far from perfect as you could be. There weren’t enough seats for everyone. No catering. Barely enough room to park on our street. Things ran out. But I’m so glad that didn’t stop me from hosting.

“I realized for me it just doesn’t feel like a holiday if I can’t share it. And if that means being okay with an imperfect venue, so be it.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about the pressure we all put on ourselves. The social media videos we watch of put-together tables and food displays that look like art. I see gender reveals that are fancier than my wedding. There is a fear that what we can offer isn’t enough.

I reached out to my friend Nelle Somerville, who is a great party host and was also the assistant director in the Office of Events at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She even owns a soup tureen. She has hosted countless celebrations at her home in Dickeyville, including a few I’ve been lucky enough to attend.

She’s the type of person that, when life gives her lemons, she makes lemon risotto and invites the whole neighborhood over to eat it. I need someone to tell me that no one cares what my house looks like or how big it is.

“Don’t let perfection get in the way of celebration,” she tells me. “I’ll never forget having 70 people in my 500-square-foot apartment in Dupont Circle,” recounts Somerville. And maybe that’s just it. She doesn’t remember a single person complaining about the accommodations, but she does remember the warm feeling of being surrounded by so many people she loved. “I think the hospitality given by the host is more important than the décor, size, or even what is being served.”

That was never more apparent than December 2020. Our first pandemic Hanukkah. The house felt quiet and empty. There wasn’t a line for the bathroom or people eagerly awaiting the next batch of fried latkes. We missed the smell of vegetable oil that hung in the air for a full week no matter how many windows we opened. I had no excuse to buy another menorah. That year I placed a bowl of dreidels (with how-to-play directions) and gelt (chocolate coins) on our porch, encouraging friends to stop by. Our family celebrated, of course, but it also felt a little less joyous without all the noise and chaos. (Lighting candles over Zoom just wasn’t the same.)

“Don’t let perfection get in the way of celebration. I think the hospitality given by the host is more important than the décor, size, or even what is being served.”

In the fall of 2021, I started to wonder if we could have people over safely for the holiday. We have an itty-bitty front lawn and a decent-sized covered porch, and I crossed my fingers that the weather would work out—and it did. On the very last night of Hanukkah, we placed tables out front, lit a fire, and waited.

Neighbors—who made room in their driveways for our guests—and old friends, new friends, school friends, Jewish friends, and non-Jewish friends alike filled our yard. We lit menorahs and ate latkes, and I might have given a speech.

There were s’mores made with gelt and lots of dreidels and my husband carrying out trays of latkes. We had sour cream and homemade applesauce, pickles, lox, and cream soda, and lots and lots of sufganiyot—a round jelly doughnut eaten in celebration of Hanukkah. We had a cool and dry night and lit a big, beautiful fire. There was hot cider and lots of laughter and not enough time to talk to everyone.

I realized for me it just doesn’t feel like a holiday if I can’t share it. And if that means being okay with an imperfect venue, so be it. If I waited for everything to be perfect, I’d still be waiting. And I’d miss out on friends telling me it’s their favorite invite each year. And it’s not because we have a bartender (just a good Irish friend who makes a mean Old-Fashioned) or a coat check (just a bedroom where jackets get flung on the bed), it’s because the act of being together is enough.

Last year I agreed to consolidate our open house to a more manageable two nights. The first one took place on the first night of Hanukkah. (Don’t tell my rabbi, but it meant blowing out and re-lighting candles so everyone got a turn.) It was the first year I truly didn’t worry about everyone being squished in our house. Or everything not being perfect. Because it felt perfect. Our friend, John, brought his family and camera and snapped pictures of the mass of people gathered to hear the prayers. I have a big, stupid, happy grin in every photo.

I felt like a dreidel that night, spinning around the room, trying to take it all in, talk to everyone, look for more plates and forks. (At one point Happy Birthday plates came out.) It was one of those nights that I cling to all year.

And here we are again, Hanukkah 2023 is fast approaching—thank you Google for telling me it begins sundown on Thursday, December 7th—and I’m already looking forward to an overflow crowd and the inevitable blast from our sensitive fire alarm as the frying pan oil and candle flames reach their peak. It’s going to be flawed and splendid.

Want to come over?

Put on your yarmulke, Charm City. There’s plenty of local fun in store for the upcoming Festival of Lights, which just so happens to kick off on Christmas Eve this year. The eight-night celebration has only overlapped with Christmas four times in the past century.

To celebrate the uniquely timed hybrid-holiday, colloquially dubbed “Chrismukkah,” Baltimore is chock-full of festive celebrations, and the local Jewish community is offering a handful of opportunities to spin dreidels, fry up potato pancakes, wager chocolate coins, and get down to Yiddish party music this season.

The Chanukah House
Dec. 24-31: Much like Hampden’s Miracle on 34th Street, this decked-out destination on Greenspring Avenue has become a must-see holiday spectacle. Adorned with menorahs, strung lights, trains, and inflatable dreidel decorations, the Chanukah House habitually lights its massive menorah at 7 p.m., and invites a different community organization to participate in the ceremony each night of the holiday. No need to worry if you can’t plan a visit this year—the owners also live-stream the lights online. 6721 Greenspring Ave., Free

An Evening of Jewish Bluegrass with Nefesh Mountain
Dec. 24: Bring the whole family to hear the fingerpickin’ sounds of husband-and-wife duo Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff. At this special holiday show, Nefesh Mountain will perform their signature “Jewgrass” tunes that fuse traditional bluegrass sounds with English and Hebrew lyrics.The Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynbrook Ave., Owings Mills, 410-356-7469, $15-25

Moishe House Cocktails with a Conscience
Dec. 24: The local arm of Moishe House, a nonprofit which operates hubs for Jewish young adults across the world, is co-hosting this celebration along with other organizations Repair the World and Operation Shoebox. Bring your friends to enjoy festive cocktails, play a round of holiday trivia, and pack boxes of supplies for local families who have been displaced. Guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable foods and gently used warm clothing to donate. Moishe House Baltimore, 1213 William St., 6-9 p.m., Free

Baltimore Chanukah Festival
Dec. 25: Many Jewish families have a tradition of chowing down on Chinese food and catching a movie on Christmas Day. But since the holidays coincide this year, stray from tradition and spend your December 25 celebrating the first day of Hanukkah at this massive festival in the heart of the Inner Harbor. Press your own olive oil, decorate cookies, enjoy eats from D.C.-based kosher food truck Brooklyn Sandwich Co. (think pulled brisket and pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup, and potato knishes), and catch a glimpse of dancing dreidels before heading to the giant menorah-lighting ceremony in McKeldin Square at 4:30 p.m.The event continues with the annual Chanukah Car Parade on Monday, December 26, which begins on Park Heights Avenue and makes its way around northwest Baltimore. McKeldin Square in the Inner Harbor, East Pratt St., 2-5 p.m., Free

Chanukah BrewHaHa
Dec. 28: Join Charm City Tribe for its annual beer-filled Hanukkah bash at Union Craft Brewing, which will feature dreidel-spinning contests, community service projects, and music spun by DJ Bohfunk and DJ JA. Plus, get in the spirit with Hanukkah-inspired eats and drinks like Union’s Anthem flavored with Etrog (citrus fruit used in Jewish rituals), Charmery ice cream flavored with sufganiyot (jelly donut), and latkes from The Green Bowl food truck. Union Craft Brewing, 1700 Union Ave., Ste. D, 410-467-0290, $15-20

Charm City Klezmer Holiday Dance Party
Dec. 29: Jewish-inspired klezmer music—a folk fusion of trumpets, violins, flutes, and accordions with roots in Eastern Europe—has been around for ages, and next week, local klezmer performers Judith Geller and Michael Raitzyk are taking the stage at the Creative Alliance for their annual Hanukkah show. On the fifth night of the holiday, dance the horah and brush up on your Yiddish moves with the renowned jam band. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., 410-276-1651, 8 p.m., $15-18

Festival of (Laser) Lights Show
Dec. 29: Inspired by the symbolic significance of the holiday—which pays homage to the small amount of oil that miraculously provided The Maccabees with enough light for eight days—this laser display fuses a number of different colors and shapes that culminate into one giant menorah. The Gordon Center for Performing Arts, 3506 Gwynbrook Ave., Owings Mills, 410-356-7469, 7-9 p.m., $10-13

Local restaurants are also getting in on the Hanukkah fun this year, showcasing specials that celebrate the Festival of Lights. In Brewers Hill, Gunther & Co. will add braised brisket with cipollini mushrooms and beet-cured smoked salmon to the menu on Christmas Eve, when co-owner Nancy Hart Mola will step into the kitchen to whip up her family’s signature potato pancakes. In Little Italy, Germano’s Piattini will also be offering latkes during the eight nights of Hanukkah, in addition to a special carciofi alla giudia dish (pan-fried artichokes in a balsamic glaze)—an old-school favorite historically popular in Roman Jewish culture. Over in Federal Hill, Regi’s American Bistro will also highlight a special brisket and latke combination.