Below is the speech Libby Fairchild gave at the event:

"We all have holiday stories that are unique but in some ways are similar. My father’s parents were German-American, my mother’s father was English-American and her mother was American Indian. My family’s unique story is that we are able to pinpoint the very date that my American Indian ancestors became Christian. It was on January 2, 1898 – almost 112 years ago, or…it could be said a mere 112 years ago.

What do I know about winter and my American Indian family prior to conversion? I have been told that winter was a time for the family to spend time together, protected from the weather, playing games, sharing stories and passing its oral history through the generations – much as our families do now when they gather for winter holidays.

As you can see, a list of holidays beginning today and up to the end of January was compiled. I’m especially proud of the fact that November is American Indian Heritage month and had to make mention of it, although the month is almost over.

I’d like to point out that not all of the holidays over this time period are Christian. One of the most interesting things that I discovered in preparing this calendar was that the Japanese celebration of New Years on January 1 had been changed in 1873 to the Gregorian calendar. Prior to that year, the Japanese celebrated on Chinese New Year (January 14), which is based on the lunar calendar.

On New Year’s Day the Japanese eat special traditional foods, send postcards to friends and relatives, customarily give money to children and play special games…does this all sound familiar? Celebrating the New Year in Japan also means paying special attention to the first time something is done in the New Year. Please keep this calendar and try to research and appreciate holidays around the world and in this community yourself.

Having said all of this, let’s light the community holiday tree and begin our own celebrations."

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at [email protected].)