This multiple-exposure photo taken at St. George, Maine, shows the sun moving from sunrise to winter solstice to sunset. (© AP Images)

Americans love a party, and winter offers several holidays for family and friends to meet and celebrate religious and cultural events. Winter solstice celebrations mark the return of the sun following the longest, darkest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, around December 21 or 22.

Loy Krathong

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Offering a prayer to Buddha, like these two are doing in Florida, is common during Loy Krathong. The holiday is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the Western calendar, this usually falls in November.

Hanukkah

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A family in New York stands by a menorah at Hanukkah. This Jewish holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights, lasts eight days and is celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting and special prayers and food. The dates vary based on the Jewish calendar.

Las Posadas

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Las Posadas (“The Inns”) lasts from December 16 to 24 and commemorates Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for shelter before the birth of Christ. This procession, in Langley Park, Maryland, visited several homes to pray and sing.

Mawlid al-Nabi

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Worshipers in Lanham, Maryland, pray in a mosque to observe Mawlid al-Nabi. The holiday celebrates the birth of the prophet Muhammad, born in the year 570. The date varies based on the Islamic calendar.

Kwanzaa

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Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration, based on African festivals, from December 26 through January 1. In Atlanta, Ruth Ndiagne Dorsey sits with her Kwanzaa display at her church, the Shrine of the Black Madonna.