War on Christmas - Part 2

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

As it is, the first reason I have for NOT believing in the alleged "War on Christmas" is a good one: It's stupid.

But if you need another one, how about this: It's Anti-Semitic. Let's face it. The complaints are not a reaction to Ramadan or Kwanzaa. It's Hanukkah.

During our drive into the city for Thanksgiving, my daughter expressed a troubling bit of news. She told us that one of her classmates said that Hanukkah only exists because the Jews don't celebrate Christmas. My first gut reaction, of course, was of disgust; but I always try to respond to ignorance with education. If this comment was to be considered bullying; I am less concerned with stopping the bully, which often will never happen, than I am with strengthening my daughter's response. However, I realized as I tried to explain the way things truly are to my daughter, that this chick wasn't entirely wrong.

Fact: Christmas is the second most important observance in the Christian calendar, second only to Easter. Fact: Hanukkah, just,... well,... isn't. It's a lovely celebration, and special to the Jewish people, but it is not to the Jews anywhere close to the importance and significance of Christmas and Easter. In fact the two most important high Holy days in Judaism are Yom Kippur (and arguably the whole New Year celebration starting with Rosh Hashanah) and Passover. Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday.

So, why do I get pressure to include Hanukkah music on my Winter Concert? Why MUST there be a Menorah alongside that Christmas Tree? Well, imagine that you're a young Jewish kid, going to school in a mostly gentile neighborhood. We Christians don't just observe Christmas, we allow Christmas to explode all over the freakin' place. Christmas Lights everywhere, non-stop Christmas music on everyone's radio and iPod, Shopping frenzies! Now through all the hubbub about Christmas, here is a lonely solitary Jewish child who doesn't celebrate it. How left out they must feel, and how lonely. As much as people might try to include them in their Christmas merry-making, the fact remains, Santa's not bringing toys to their house, this is someone else's celebration.

So, what do you do for that child? You talk to them about their own celebration. "Hey, aren't you celebrating something this month? What's that holiday all about? You give each other gifts, too, right? And you play that game with the top, right? And wait... you fry stuff? AWESOME!" Maybe then, the child feels better about their own culture, and can be included in everyone's celebration. The only downside to this inclusion, is that it often breeds competition. Which holiday is better?

This competition, in the mind of the uneducated, can evolve into hatred of the other holiday, and thus, a war is invented. Like my 5 year old who doesn't yet understand that when another child shares her toys, they aren't TAKING them away, she still gets to play with them, too. She throws a fit, and we step in, the voices of reason, and remind her that it's about fairness. She does that... because she's 5! Adults are supposed to have outgrown that kind of selfishness. However, some still believe that if we share the holiday season with people of other cultures, who celebrate other holidays; that they're taking their holiday away.

Whenever I hear the words "War on Christmas," I can't help but hear, "Those damned Jews jumping on Christmas' bandwagon. Why should I bother to acknowledge their culture?" Answer: Because that what civilized people of good character do, nimrod.

Epilogue: My wife brought that child's comment to the attention of our daughter's teacher, and she suggested that my wife bring in some dreidels, teach the class to play, and talk about Hanukkah. We're even bringing in gelt for the kids to bring home. (Nut-free for the allergic.) Another example of ignorance defeated by education. If everyone bothered to learn about other people's culture, maybe we wouldn't feel the need to compete during December, and instead could focus on what the holidays are really about.

Besides, who can argue with a week-long celebration of Frying?!