Every year in the week after Thanksgiving, my mom brings up a box labeled “Xmas Decorations” from the basement. She pries it open, and the first thing we see is our Christmas Menorah.
Yep. I’m not kidding.
Instead of putting a cross or an angel on top of the Christmas tree, my family puts a small menorah. This is why my holiday season is complicated.
My immediate family and I consider ourselves to be Jewish, but only ethnically Jewish. The only times I have ever gone to a synagogue were for bar or bat mitzvahs, and I never even had a bar mitzvah myself. I have nothing against the Jewish religion, I just don’t believe in God, and have never prayed once in my life. The only Jewish holidays my family ever celebrates are Passover and Chanukkah, and we do so in a very non-religious way.
For Chanukkah, we usually just light an additional candle on our menorah every night and attempt to recite the famous “Baruch atah Adonai.” It’s funny when not a single one of us knows more than the first few words of the prayer.
Even though I am Jewish, my favorite time of the year has been and always will be Christmas. My family goes full out during the Christmas season with huge tree and loads of ornaments.When I was little, we would not only leave out for Santa Cookies and Milk, but also Carrots and a pail of water for the reindeer.
I wouldn’t doubt for a minute that my family goes more full out on Christmas than any other Christian family on our block.
Whenever we have Jewish friends come over around the Christmas season, they always look at us strangely. They know that we are Jewish, but in front of them looms an eight foot tall tree in the center of our living room.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not embarrassed to be Jewish and still celebrate Christmas in this manner. This is the way I was raised, and I plan on raising my children in the same manner.
I can’t imagine a holiday season without both Christmas and Chanukkah. I even feel bad for Jews who only celebrate Chanukkah. Yes, it is eight days of presents, but wouldn’t you rather have one full day of celebration and joy rather than eight days of dreidel spinning?
However, I feel also bad for people who only celebrate Christmas as well. Chanukkah is a holiday of great food, board games, and a new surprise every day. Even if my family can’t recite the prayer, we can still have fun on Chanukkah.
It is quite fun and unique to able to celebrate both holidays, and something like a religion shouldn’t limit what and what not people can celebrate.
