The next movie on my Netflix queue is “White Christmas,” which I have seen at least twenty or thirty times since I was a toddler. My mom and I went in together on “The Christmas Album” a couple of years ago, and so it is perfectly routine for my iPod to go from an Israeli hip hop song to “Silver Bells” to Coldplay to another Israeli song.
My relationship with Christmas is awkward. Christmas used to be a scary time of year for Jews, where we were persecuted and accused of killing Jesus. But now, integrated as we are into American culture, it is an equally pleasant time of year for us as it is for our Christian neighbors. The struggles of intermarried couples to try to directly combine Christmas and Hanukkah have been well documented, but I think that for all Jewish Americans there are tensions.
Many of us scoff at Jews who have a Christmas tree or its cousin, the Hanukkah bush, but my grandma and grandpa got their picture taken with Santa at the mall a few years ago. We’ve never acknowledged Christmas with any celebration more than bagels and lox with other Jews, but I used to eagerly look forward to “A Very Brady Christmas” on TV every year (I know, not one of my more tasteful preferences). I don’t believe that Jesus is my savior, but I do enjoy Mahalia Jackson’s version of “Silent Night.”
If there were equally visible and enjoyable Hanukkah songs and movies, I probably would be equally if not more into them. But alas, Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song” just doesn’t do it for me, and this time of year is filled with quality cultural products of a Christian holiday. We Jews are left to navigate the season and figure out where the proper boundaries are. There are Jews who would fully reject doing or patronizing anything remotely related to Christmas. I think, though, that we can enjoy some aspects of the season without being blasphemous or less Jewish.
Many Christians complain about the secularization of Christmas, but because I am not Christian, I love the products of this much-lamented process: bring on the shopping season and the elves and the decorations. For me the key step in reckoning my love of commercialized Christmas with Christian concerns about the loss of religious meaning and my own Judaism is to distinguish between civic and religious Christmas. I have chosen to consider Christmas mass and family celebrations of the birth of Jesus as something altogether separate from jolly snowmen and Santa. The way I see it, that way I can keep enjoying the public holiday season that I love without ceding my Jewishness. Hey, if Ivring Berlin, a Jew, could write the song “White Christmas,” I don’t see a problem with my listening to it.
Comments (2)
Actually a minor clarification, Easter NOT Christmas is the most important Christian holiday. Without the resurrection the birth would have been meaningless at best. In fact Christmas wasn't even celebrated as an official Holy Day for many years, while Easter was from the beginning.
Posted January 13, 2008 9:26 AM
Posted on January 13, 2008 09:26
Shari,
I know I already discussed this with you, but some food for thought.
Hanukkah is not even considered a holiday for Jews. Instead of the customary "chag sameach" (happy holiday) greeting that is used on holidays like Rosh Hashnah and Pesach, we say "chanukkah sameach." I guess my point is that Chanukkah, as a relatively minor festival (rather than holiday), doesn't deserve songs/movies in the way that Christmas does. This isn't a competition...Christmas should and will always beat Hanukkah as the all encompassing December holiday, as it is THE MOST important holiday for Christians around the world. We have lots of Passover songs... nothing to be jealous of here!
Posted December 23, 2007 1:55 PM
Posted on December 23, 2007 13:55