Always looking for a different kind of holiday celebration, my family went to the Project Lighthouse Christmas Powwow Sunday.

While we had been to several different powwows in the area, we hadn't been to one celebrating a holy day.

It had started before we got there, with a circle of chairs around an elk hide. One of the men was speaking about how he was trying to be inclusive of the people of many different religions that might be in attendance and how he liked incorporating the various aspects of his traditional Indian upbringing and his Christianity, therefore the circle signifying the unity of all as well as the traditional Indian meeting.

At the conclusion of his talk, another man unwrapped the elk hide. Inside was a pot of water. He went on to explain how in some Indian rituals, like in those of other religions, that water is used to "cleanse the spirit." He had also tied three eagle feathers together, symbolizing the Christian trinity as well as Indian spirituality, offering each of us, in turn, a blessing of water if we chose, regardless of our background. We were not treated any differently, even though our lack of Indian background was evident. (I'm not sure my possible 1/128 th Virginia Algonquin ancestry qualifies as much, especially since it hasn't been an issue in my upbringing).

As a warm-up to the Grand Entry, drummers and singers set up a beat and the younger of the crowd danced. During the Grand Entry, people of all ages walked or danced clockwise in a large circle, the boys and some of the men dancing energetically, some of the younger girls joining in with their jingle dresses, while the older women showing their fancy shawls.

Several of the men were active-duty or retired military and had incorporated their service into their outfits. A 20+ year veteran led the procession, executing the equivalent of posting the colors.

And, of course, Santa, with appropriate headdress, was also present.

It was good to see the intergenerational involvement at the powwow: the youngest children already getting involved in the different dances; the honoring of the elders with thanks and presents.

It was also good to see the coming together of many different nations. As one man said, it would not have been the case a little over a hundred years ago as many of these nations, including the United States, would have been warring factions. He said that it was good to come together in peace.

And that is what this season is supposed to be about.