Like stars in a celestial display, holidays of major religions will draw together in an unusual convergence in the next few days.

Today at sundown, Jews will begin the weeklong Hanukkah, recalling the first battle for religious freedom.

Monday is Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, whom Christians worship as the Son of God.

On Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on when the new moon is sighted, Muslims will celebrate the Eid ul-Fitr, a festival ending their solemn month of Ramadan. It was during Ramadan, they believe, that the Prophet Muhammad began receiving the Quran more than 14 centuries ago.

This triple overlap is extremely unusual. Hanukkah commonly comes within a week or two of Christmas; it fell on Christmas Eve in 1997. But Eid ul-Fitr visits December only once every 33 years.

As columnist Rodger Kamenetz writes on the Beliefnet.com Web site, the three holidays won’t come this close again until 2033.

Though it may not be obvious at first glance, the three events share much. They all recall when believers found divine help. All the religions sprang from the same roots and preach faith in a single God. And they all preach similar ethics — truth, love, caring for the poor.

“The three festivals have several things in common: a call to conversion, to rededication to God through others,” says Sixto Garcia, a theologian with St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. “And to let go of the idols we collect so easily.”

Although the dates will draw close, the followers of the three religions will not. And not everyone thinks that’s a bad idea.

“You’d almost need to be willing to say that differences are not important,” says Erik Larson, an assistant professor of religious studies at Florida International University in Miami. “What would you focus on when you get together? The oneness of God is a pretty big thing. But is it enough?”

Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, is actually a celebration of the right to be different. A lesson against giving in to pressure.

The story of Judah Maccabee and his brothers rallying fellow Jews against a pagan king has been turned into a parable against absorbing the values of outside societies.

“Jews live in a wonderful society, with wonderful concepts,” says Abraham Gittelson, retired executive vice president of the Central Agency for Jewish Education’s Broward County office. “But some of [those concepts] are not Jewish. The core of Hanukkah is rededication to our own religious faith.”

Hence the events that some Jewish groups plan for the Christian holidays. The Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County plans a gathering on Christmas Eve in Boca Raton. Several Chabad-Lubavitch groups plan a “Hurricane Hanukkah” family outing at Boomer’s in Dania, on Christmas Day. And numerous rabbis will hold public menorah lightings at malls and parks.

A minor holiday

Some Jews look askance at promoting a minor holiday, far below the level of, say, Passover or Rosh Hashana. Leon Weissberg is more philosophical about it.

“You’ve got to realize that we’re in an American environment, not Eastern Europe,” says Weissberg, director of education for the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. “We can still maintain our Jewishness, and adapt some of the secular aspects of Christmas.”

Still, many thinkers see strong connections among the days.

There is the theme of light — knowledge, of goodness, of literal enlightenment. The Temple lamp is copied in millions of Jewish homes, usually placed in windows for all to see. Jesus spoke of placing a lamp high, to light up a house; he himself is called the Light of the World.

“I see a strong theological connection of Christmas and Hanukkah,” Sixto Garcia says. “Light reflects the holiness of God. It’s something our secularized world and consumerist society loses sight of.”

Like Hanukkah, Christmas has been played up larger than more important holidays such as Easter, in order to supplant pagan days: Yule among Germanic tribes, the Saturnalia in ancient Rome. As it took their place, Christmas was expanded and tailored to match their wassailing, tree-trimming, merrymaking scale.

Latin American nations have evolved their own versions of the day. Latinos hold a version of caroling called Las Posadas, reprising the search of Mary and Joseph for a place to stay. Cuban-Americans hold Three Kings Day on the weekend of Jan. 6, also called Epiphany or the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

Next Tuesday or Wednesday, when the first sliver of the new moon is visible, the month of Ramadan will end. For a month, Muslims have prayed, fasted, read the Quran and abstained from worldly pleasures. Now, they pray thanks to God and feast.

“Islam is the newer religion compared to Judaism and Christianity,” said Murtaza Kakli, president of the Muslim Community of Palm Beach County. “Muhammad is not the founder, but he is the last prophet of Allah, along with Moses and Jesus.”

In contrast to the Jewish and Christian holidays, Eid Ul-Fitr is a temporary visitor. The date of Christmas was fixed by the Roman Catholic Church. Hanukkah advances by 11 days a year, until an extra month — Adar II — is added seven times every 19 years. This year, in fact, saw an extra Adar in March and April.

Reckoned by moon

But the Muslim calendar, which like the Hebrew calendar is reckoned by the moon, remains 11 days short. So the Muslim holidays advance continually through the common Gregorian calendar, by 11 days each year, so that they return to the same place every 33 years.

Islam came to the Arabian subcontinent in the Dark Ages, when Arab tribes worshiped hosts of gods and idols. The Prophet Muhammad taught that Allah — a deity with a name similar to the Hebrew god El or Elah — was the only true God.

“You must believe that no one is worthy of worship but Allah,” Kakli said. “That’s a basic thing in our religion. When you think there are more gods, you think one is inferior to another.”

Common concerns

As the similarities have dawned on believers, they’ve increasingly worked together. Christians and Jews often share in common concerns, such as fights against bigotry and joint prayer after disasters.

The National Conference for Community and Justice changed its name from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in order to include Muslims and others. The local NCCJ chapter held a Dec. 7 forum, “Respecting Our Faiths and Holiday Traditions,” drawing leaders of nine religions, including Buddhist, Hindu, Unitarian and Polish Catholic.

Should everyone just celebrate holidays together?

“It’s a hope, but as a practical matter, it won’t be soon,” Kakli says. “The leaders have a lot to be blamed for that. People can work together. But their leaders have their position, their power, to guard. That causes the problems.”

Perhaps. But the differences do remain. Muslims and Jews deny that Jesus was an incarnation of God. Jews and Christians deny that Muhammad was a prophet. Christians and Muslims seek converts more aggressively than Jews.

“[Joint services] are what Thanksgiving and Memorial Day and Labor Day are for,” Weissberg says. “Religion is an opportunity for people to express spirituality. So there will always be different ways of expressing spirituality.”

Yet the groups can indeed work together, the leaders agree, with respect and a willingness to cooperate. Those, too, would seem to be core values of each faith.

“I think there is a real value in different groups and different beliefs, if they respect each other,” Gittelson says. “It could be like a tapestry, with many colors, weaving, interacting, overlapping. That produces excitement.”

James D. Davis can be reached at or 954-356-4730.