Christmas and Chanukah

[cellio]

Two takes on multiculturalism and December holidays, both written by liberal Jews, with rather different stances: one from JBCs (Jews by Choice) and one from the Velveteen Rabbi. I myself tend more toward the former; when we try to combine holidays with the goal of better interfaith relations, I think we weaken both. Christmas is the second most important day on the Christian calendar; it should be important and solemn for those who believe, and not be treated as somehow equivalent to a minor Jewish holiday commemorating, of all things, a victory over assimilation. (Think about that irony for a minute.) If I find myself in the midst of Christian affirmation, which to me includes everything from a mass down to singing Handel's Messiah, they should do their thing and I should withdraw [1]. We shouldn't have to compromise on "Frosty the Snowman" or a theme of light in the darkest days of winter.

Cross-religion education is a good thing, and I think most people would welcome serious inquiries from people of different faiths if they want to know more (or even attend services or other rituals). I've certainly participated on both sides of that and seen no problems. But I think we should remember that our religions are separate; they have different emphases and that's ok. We don't have to agree, and we don't have to try to build a lowest common denominator.

To my Christian friends, I wish you the best in your season of holiness now under way, as I know you wish similar things for me during the high holy days and at other times. I'm not offended by your observance of your religion; you don't need to water it down. Besides, the dreidel song is really insipid; please don't feel obligated on my account.

(Mind, I would have a different reaction to celebrations in a setting that's supposed to be neutral, like a public school or a place of (secular) employment. But that's not what I'm talking about here.)

[1] Some do not see a problem with things like singing Messiah. We all draw the "worship" line in different places.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for linking to my recent blog post, even though you draw your line (on things like singing Messiah, e.g.) in a different place than I do.

I agree with you that combining holidays can water them down in a way that's fair to neither holiday. Then again, many interfaith families opt to celebrate the holidays of both partners, and that makes sense to me in a way that Jewish-families-with-Christmas-trees don't...

Anyway, thanks for the signal-boost!

-- Rachel (Velveteen Rabbi)

[cellio]

Thanks for the feedback!

You're right; interfaith families and Jews with Christmas trees are different cases. Within the space of interfaith families, I've seen some that give the various holidays the weight that makes sense in the source religions, and others that try to make each season "balanced" in some way. This means Chanukah ends up being a much bigger deal than it should be, or that Christmas gets watered down. That's a pity.

As for drawing lines, the adage about two Jews and three opinions comes to mind. :-)