It's 10:00, do you know when Diwali is?

OK, it's almost December and perfect strangers everywhere from the gym to the grocery store are talking about the upcoming holiday season. But dear readers, this is no made-up story-- I have friends who don't celebrate Christmas-- just like many other people in our community.

Imagine for a moment going through a December day in our town without the common bond of Christmas. Those lights, the gooey treats, the sparkly window displays of bright, shiny goods, the jaunty music being piped in overhead-- none of it is for you. Imagine going to your local library for a moment's respite from the holly-jolliness of it all only to sit beneath a North Pole bulletin board and look down to find your child coloring a reindeer.

I have never been a believer in holiday programming in public libraries. While I do believe these programs can inform, educate, entertain, and culturally enrich our community, I believe that there are already plenty of other free local outlets for that type of activity, and I could never begin to cover the scope of holidays that are celebrated by our area's population. To try to do so would be ludicrous. There are plenty of other ways to get people into our library, highlight our collection, and pique my interest as a programmer.

I am, however, a staunch advocate of cultural programs. The one I've immersed myself most fully in is our Day of the Dead program-- one that still elicits smiles, grimaces, or stony silence from many staffers. While this is, in actuality, a Mexican holiday, it is programmed from a cultural perspective and every year I study more to try to make our celebration more authentic and educational. Well over 500 people were in attendance in this, its fifth year of observance at the Main Library. This Friday I'll visit an exhibition at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. It promises to be awesome!

I can get so worn down when the staff or the public put up a wall and don't want to understand about Day of the Dead. They sometimes have preconceived notions which they feel entitled to keep beyond any logical reason. It is this sense of entitlement to Christmas and other mainstream Christian (even secularized Christian) holidays which I think keeps us from being thoroughly sensitive to the needs, and even the lives, of others who are not exactly like us. Having friends who don't celebrate the same holidays as me helps me remember that, but it doesn't necessarily help me with sensitivity or professionalism. It's up to me to work on it.

But as I prepared to write this post I had to admit that my own logic was biting me in the ass. If anyone's culture should be able to be represented at a public library, that means anyone's. Most of the mainstream population in our area does celebrate Christmas in some way-- either "Santa Christmas" or "Jesus Christmas" as I used to inquire as part of my reference interview on the way to the holiday materials at Children's Services. Since the personal creativity of the programmer is held mainly inviolable at our institution (and that's a good thing), any tasteful program should be met with favor.

It would be interesting, though, for people to leave comments about any cultural programming they've done over the last five years or so. I look forward to reading them!