Isn't the Festivus "tree" just a pole? Home Depot sells those all year long! LOL
I come from a pagan-based belief system, so in that time frame there is Samhain/November Eve (10/31 - the pagan New Year's Eve), and Yule/Winter solstice. Countless ways to celebrate those holidays, each group is a little different. I don't really celebrate them much, DH & I do a secular Christmas that is kind of a generic middle ground.
I do tend to light candles for any beloved dead for the year on November Eve, however. Tradition says that's the last day their spirits walk this plane before heading off to the Summerlands, so there are a lot of traditions around that. Lighting candles, setting out a dumb feast (empty plates at the dinner table), burying apples or pomegranates...all ways of saying 'goodbye'. I'm a skeptic, but I light candles for them anyway. Never a bad thing, to reflect on those you have loved, and lost.
By contrast, Yule/Solstice celebrations are usually a lot of fun. Usually involve a lot of dancing, bonfires, and drums through the longest night; then lots of cheering and bell-ringing and celebrating when the sun finally comes up. It's all about pushing the darkness away and enticing and celebrating the return of the sun, so it's a very happy and celebratory holiday that's enjoyable even if you're pretty sure the sun would rise
without all the bells and drums encouraging it.
