december is the month of the offerings to the orixás - in Yoruba, Umbanda, and candomblé religions orixás are African deified ancestors that match and represent Nature, forces of nature, and its manifestations.

each orixá, tranlsated Orisha in english, resembles the form of humans, and they manifest emotions such as love, anger, vanity, pride, and even jealousy - and each is given her set of worshipping symbols and rituals comprising of particular prayers, colors, foods, environments, rituals, and songs.

As a result of syncretism, the merging and incorporation of religious aspects of one religion into another, that occurred during the period of slavery, each orixá was also associated with a Catholic saint, so that orixás could be disguised and worshipped despite catholic impositions.