Why Media Must Get Smarter About Holiday Faith Coverage

Season of Light, Many Paths: Why Religious Diversity Education Must Guide Holiday Coverage—Now

Every year, as December approaches, our city lights up. Storefronts shift to reds and greens, menorahs start appearing in windows, and the news cycle fills with familiar stories about Christmas commerce and Hanukkah gatherings. But beneath this predictable rhythm lies a deeper truth: New York’s religious landscape is far broader, more luminous, and more complex than the seasonal scripts we repeat.

And the media—our mirrors to one another—still struggle to reflect that richness with care.

This year offers a chance to do better, and it begins with a simple but transformative tool: religious diversity education.

A Resolution Years in the Making

In November 2024, Council Member Shahana Hanif’s Resolution 0095 passed the New York City Council, calling for real-world, authentic religious diversity education in NYC public schools. For many, it felt like progress arriving swiftly. But those of us who have been in the trenches know it has been years in motion.

Back in 2019, I launched my book Leading While Muslim: The Experiences of American Muslim Principals after 9/11. During one of my book talk events, Council Member (then Education Chair) Danny Dromm and I found ourselves deep in conversation about religious literacy—how it shapes diversity,  inclusion, belonging, conflict, and civic life. By the end of that night, the seed of a resolution had been planted.

But seeds don’t grow alone.

I brought in the Muslim Community Network (MCN)—experts in youth education and community engagement as well as interfaith literacy—to help craft the resolution framework. From lesson plans to language, we wanted something rooted in rigor, community need, and classroom realities. What emerged aligned squarely with work the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) had already put forward in 2017, urging K–12 educators to treat the academic study of religion not as a taboo, but as a civic necessity to mitigate bigotry.

This resolution didn’t emerge from a think tank. It came from community dialogues, book talks, classrooms, and the lived experience of students and families who understand how deeply religious identity shapes daily life—especially for young people navigating bias or invisibility.

And its purpose?
To widen our worldview. To train the next generation to understand one another, we must walk in each other’s shoes—before misunderstanding becomes conflict.

Why This Matters in the Season of Light

This season isn’t only Christmas and Hanukkah. It’s Bodhi Day for Buddhists, Yule for Pagans, Kwanzaa, Guru Nanak Gurpurab, Las Posadas, and more. For

Muslims, the winter months sometimes coincide with the birthday of Prophet Mohammed or the start of Ramadan planning, depending on the lunar cycle—a reality the media often forgets.

Religious diversity education gives journalists a stronger foundation to recognize and cover these observances—not as curiosities, but as integral parts of the American story.

With Ramadan approaching this winter, I’m hoping 2026 is the year we see something long overdue:
New York State inaugurating January as Muslim American Heritage Month, the month of Ramadan honored with crescent lightings across NYC and NYS—as we already see in New Jersey, and religious diversity literacy education becoming a mandate in New York City Public Schools. 

These gestures are not symbolic fluff. They symbolize  feeling seen, welcomed, valued and woven into the civic fabric of our country.

What Journalists Are Missing—And How to Fix It

1. The Calendar Reality Check

Too many editorial calendars follow the Western retail cycle. Christmas dominates December, Lunar New Year gets a mention if there’s a parade, and everything else falls into the “explainers” bucket.

Religious diversity education helps editors recognize that observance calendars vary—lunar, solar, and hybrid—and that holiday coverage must be planned before communities are already celebrating.

2. A Local Newsroom Playbook That Actually Works

If I could give one gift to metro desks this year, it would be this checklist:

• • • Visit or call your local interfaith council.
    • Build relationships with faith leaders, not just institutional spokespeople.
    • Scan school board agendas where holiday accommodations and curriculum decisions are debated.
    • Drop in on community centers, gurudwaras, mosques, and mandirs—not for a holiday story, but so holiday stories aren’t the only time you appear.

These simple steps turn “holiday coverage” into “community coverage.”

3. Aligning Data With Curiosity

Search trends show that audiences are hungry for clarity about rituals, food practices, terminology, and date changes across traditions. But curiosity isn’t an invitation for sensationalism—it’s an invitation for precision, humility, and context.

4. Sourcing Beyond the Usual Voices

Don’t only talk to PR-trained spokespeople. Seek out:

• • • Ritual practitioners
    • Historians
    • Youth leaders
    • Elders
    • Community educators

These are the people who understand not only the ritual, but the emotional transcript of a tradition—what it feels like, what it means, and how it travels across generations.

5. A Global Lens Grounded at Home

Diaspora communities observe holidays with layers shaped by homeland, heritage, migration, and trauma. The Islamic calendar, for instance, moves earlier each year by 11 days. Ramadan will eventually cycle through every season—including winters where iftar begins before 5 PM.

Editorial teams need dashboards that track global + local realities so coverage hits the right window.

The Path Forward: Education, Relationship, and Respect

Religious diversity education isn’t just a school issue. It is the groundwork for better journalism, healthier communities, and richer public life.

When students learn why a Sikh child wears a patka, why a Muslim teenager fasts in Ramadan, why a Jewish student lights a menorah during Hanukkah, or why a Hindu family lights diyas for Diwali—they grow into adults who lead differently, vote differently, and communicate differently.

And when journalists understand these traditions, their coverage becomes inclusive, broader, more humane, and more accurate.

This season of light is a reminder: we all bring a flame. The media’s job is to let every flame be seen—not just the ones that fit a commercial calendar.