The holiday season is easily recognizable. Front doors are adorned with wreaths, and lights are strung everywhere from restaurants to libraries.

Yet inside each home, things are sure to look a little bit different.

Over 55% of Butler County residents are Christian, according to 2020 census data, and many of them celebrate Christmas. Still, traditions vary from family to family depending on their backgrounds, and Christmas is far from the only holiday celebrated each December.

The region is home to over 180,000 Jews, according to Chabad Lubavitch, the world headquarters of the Hasidic Jewish movement, and many of them celebrate Hanukkah.

Additionally, some Butler County residents host Yule festivals while others observe Kwanzaa.

Regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds, the majority of Butler County agrees December is a time for festivities.

So, what do these festivities look like and where do they come from?

American Christmas traditions blend together customs from around the globe.

The Christmas tree likely originated in Germany. Poinsettias as holiday decorations originated in Mexico. Door-to-door caroling and figgy pudding are English traditions. While legends of St. Nicholas and similar figures exist across many cultures.

St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, will be at 10 county events this season, according to the Experience Butler County website.

“The miracle of Hanukkah, really, is that there is always a little bit of light in the darkness,” said Rabbi Yossi Feller, of Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry.

He noted Hanukkah is one of many significant holidays in Judaism, and it is a newer one at that.

Due to the nature of the Jewish calendar, holidays fall on a different date each year, Feller said. This year, Hanukkah will begin its annual eight-day run on the evening of Dec. 14.

Hanukkah is perhaps best known for the menorah, a candelabra with eight branches that are lit one-by-one as the nights roll on. This is to honor a miracle said to have occurred in ancient Jerusalem, Feller said.

The legend tells of the Maccabees, a persecuted Jewish people, who finally regained control of a significant temple. Only one jar of oil was available to light the temple, enough for one night. It is said to have miraculously burned for eight days, Feller said.

Today, Hanukkah traditions center on education and tradition.

It is customary to play a game of dreidel, which involves a spinning top. Feller claims the purpose of the game is to teach younger generations about strategy and wealth. Potato pancakes called Latkes, along with doughnuts and other fried foods, are eaten to honor the oil from the original Hanukkah.

These practices and more are observed during the center’s yearly menorah lighting at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, which will be Dec. 16 this year.

Feller said that because of antisemitism, menorahs were kept out of public view until 1973, when a Jewish leader campaigned to bring awareness of Hanukkah to the world.

“The menorah is a universal message of goodness and hope and overcoming evil,” Feller said. “We’re very happy to be the ones to put up menorahs around Cranberry and look forward to (the event) every year.”

Yule begins each year on the winter solstice and ends with the solar new year, running from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 this season.

Kylie Baker, 22, of Mars, has been celebrating Yule for the past five years.

The festival began as a Nordic and Germanic tradition to honor renewal and rebirth.

“It’s sort of a midway-through-winter reminder that light will return,” Baker said. “It’s a time of intention setting, rest and showing gratitude.”

Yule is traditionally commemorated with Yule logs and a feast. The Harmony Inn will be hosting its own Yule log ceremony Dec. 16, complete with a roaring fire and a toast to the trees.

According to Baker, decorations are directly related to winter scenery, such as holly or the display of an evergreen tree.

“I love adding more natural elements to my decorations,” Baker said. “Things like mushrooms, oranges, cinnamon sticks and cloves.”

Baker added there is no one way to celebrate Yule, and observers should not be ashamed to practice what they believe in.

“Yule is a time for community, being your true self and honoring the earth,” Baker said.

Kwanzaa is a weeklong festival dedicated to uplifting African American and Pan-African culture. It was created by Mualana Karenga in 1966 as a secular way for African Americans to acknowledge their heritage.

Observance takes place each year from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Kwanzaa customs include the lighting of seven candles, discussion of seven key principals, a feast and meaningful gift-giving.

There does not appear to be any public Kwanzaa events in Butler County this year. However, numerous celebrations will be taking place further south, in and around Pittsburgh.

In previous years, Slippery Rock University’s Black Action Society hosted an annual pre-Kwanzaa event, according to the school’s website.

When the new year rolls around, people from all walks of life come together to ring it in.

Harking back to its roots, Harmony hosts an annual Silvester Celebration at 6 p.m., which is midnight in Germany. The event takes notes from other German traditions, serving pork and sauerkraut for good luck.

It also features fireworks — a worldwide symbol of celebration.

Whatever county residents choose celebrate, the season is full of traditions that add light to the darker days of December.