A few classes ago, we were talking about Hanukkah and its meaning to the Jewish religion. We talked about how it really was not one of the more important holidays but rather that it got so big so that little Jewish kids would not feel left out during Christmas. I remember my first Hanukkah. I was with my dad and he had gotten me a box of pencils. I was 4, and it was probably one of the best presents I ever got, as silly as that is.

For a very long time, I had no idea what the other Jewish holidays were. I knew about Hanukkah and Yum Kippur, but that was about it. I felt like such a fool when one of my friends told me that she was going home for Rosh Hashanah and I asked her, “What’s that?” After that, I began asking my Jewish friends about their experience as practicing Jews and what Judaism meant to them (much like the fieldwork projects we did in this class, but less formal). After my dad died, the only personal connection I had to Judaism was an annual Hanukkah dinner with some friends of my mom. And for a very long time, I was unaware that there was anything else to it. I was woefully ignorant. Ironically, despite my ignorance, I felt more connected to Judaism when having just that one dinner a year than I do now with all of the knowledge I have acquired through my studies. 

Our class the other day made me remember what I thought of Judaism compared to Judaism now. Because of this class, discussions with friends, and other classes, I have learned so much about the religion itself, its history, and its significance to the lives of Jews everywhere, and my connection to it. Though my connection to Judaism still resides in the memory of my dad, I have a better idea of what it could have meant to him. If nothing else, having the knowledge of the history of my heritage gives me more of a base and a frame for my opinions and beliefs, regardless of whether they agree with those of the Jewish faith.

Over the years, I have had many conversations with my Jewish friends about the holiday season, which have made me realize how the contrast between Jewish culture and the majority Christian population of America becomes much more distinct during this time.  Although Christians obviously don’t suddenly abandon their Jewish friends or vice versa, there is still an element of separation that really cannot be avoided.  There are many more times that the two are physically separated, because both parties want to be spending their own holidays with those who also celebrate them.  Because those who celebrate Christmas are in the majority in America and because Hanukkah is not as important a holiday for Judaism as Christmas is for Christianity, Christmas is certainly more in-your-face than Hanukkah is.  As a result, the divide has more impact on everyday life during this time.  Visually, it is immediately apparent who is Jewish and who is not.  This difference in decorations during the holiday season in particular is what has caused an ongoing argument with one of my Jewish friends and me.

We refer to this argument as the “Hanukkah wreath” argument, and though it is just a light-hearted disagreement we like to play around with, I think that the discussion reveals a lot about the boundary making between Jewish culture and American culture, especially during this time of year.  The basis of the argument is the idea of whether it is necessarily fair to say that certain holiday decorations associated with Christmas, such as the wreath, is exclusively Christmas-related.  It started out because I wondered out loud if there could be such thing as a Hanukkah wreath, but my friend adamantly opposed the idea.  She said that she doesn’t think that Jews should ever have Hanukkah wreaths because the wreath is a Christmas decoration.  However, as far as I’m concerned, there is nothing specifically symbolic of Christianity inherent in the wreath.  We casually looked it up at one point and it seems that though there is one interpretation of a wreath as symbolizing “the never-ending love of Christ”  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreath), the concept of wreath actually began in Roman and Greek times and had absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.  In fact, I know many households that keep seasonal wreaths up that have no religious connotation at all.  I do agree that perhaps now the “winter wreath,” made with pine needles and pine cones and ribbons (even those ribbons that colors other than red) are associated with Christmas, but I can’t help but wonder why this means that Jews should not be able to decorate a wreath in a Hanukkah style.  Like Christy questioned in her previous blog, I too wonder how different the holiday season would be if Jews were in the majority in America.  Would this type of evergreen wreath, made with supplies commonly found in winter, be associated with Hanukkah more than with Christmas? Would Christians be less inclined to put up wreaths with Christmas decorations on them if they were perceived as strictly Hanukkah decorations? As we discussed after reading Jonathan Webber’s “Lest We Forget!” people as a whole take elements of their culture, even grief, and become fiercely protective of it; in order to remain fiercely protective, there must be something else to protect against, to push away.  So by pushing away anything that is even vaguely associated with the culture in question, one feels as if they are being more loyal to their own culture.

            This time of year is my favorite. Every Friday after Thanksgiving, my mother emerges out of the basement with our infinite amount of Christmas decorations with which we transform our house into a Winter Wonderland filled with Santa Clauses, angels, holly, snowmen, and lights. We put away our white plates and instead use the Christmas-themed lenox plates and mugs. We decorate the Christmas tree and Christmas music is playing from the moment the first Arndt wakes up until the last one goes to sleep. From the outsiders’ perspective, it literally looks like a Christmas bomb exploded in our house or they just happened to discover Santa’s Workshop in Boyds, Maryland. However, as I go through the newspapers clipping coupons for the Holiday sales or open another Holiday card, I can’t help but wonder what about those who don’t celebrate Christmas.

              As described in Eli Yassif’s essay title “Introduction: Modern Jewish Culture as a System of Myths,” Christmas is a key event in the American calendar. He states:

“Preparations for Christmas begin weeks before the actual festival – the buying of the Christmas trees, their ornamentation, the long preoccupation with personal gifts and preparations for the holiday meals and vacations, constitute a peak in the annual cultural cycle in the United States. On the face of it, the American Jews have no place in this central component of the American culture. This is why Hanukkah has become one of the most important Jewish holidays in the United States” (p. 9).

But what if the tables were turned? As much as stores try to incorporate Hanukkah into their decorations and promote “Holiday” sales, “Holiday” events, etc instead of promoting solely “Christmas,” from my experience, this time of year primarily focuses on Christmas. So what if the majority of the American population was Jewish and not Christian? What would happen then? When I open up “Holiday” cards, will the color-theme be silver and blue instead of greens and reds? When I walk into a coffee shop, will two-thirds of the cookies be dreidels and menorahs instead of Christmas trees and Santa Clauses? When I turn on the television, will the majority of the Holiday specials be movies about the “spirit” of Hanukkah? Will workers have eight days off to observe Hanukkah instead of the two to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Would Christians eat Chinese food and go to the movies on these eight days because there is little else to do?

            Then I think back to my days in elementary school when I wanted to be like everyone else. We mentioned in class, Hanukkah is a way for Jewish families to reinforce the celebration of their religion while so many others are celebrating Christmas. During the days leading up to Christmas, my Jewish classmates would tell me how jealous they were that I got a Christmas tree and that Santa Claus visited my house. My response would be something along the lines of “but you get EIGHT days of presents!” but again what if the tables were turned. As a kid it is hard to compete my one day of presents to my friends’ eight days (even if presents aren’t the purpose of these holidays, as a kid what else is cooler than getting presents). Would I feel left out of the celebrations at this time of the year?

            As I write this blog, one large question has slowly formed. Yassif said that Hanukkah has become one of the most important holidays for Jews in American in part due to its “calendar proximity… to Christmas” (p. 9). If the American population was predominately Jewish, would Hanukkah have the same significance in the United States as it does today or would the other High Holidays have more significance in terms of observation amongst the community, such as stores closing? Would people recognize the significance of Christmas for the Christian Community as it does today or would it lose its large presence in terms of the decorations, the Christmas messages in the media, etc? Obviously, this time of year would be drastically different if this were the case, but to what extent?