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

Re: Holiday greetings

[dglenn.livejournal.com]

"But if I give a present at Chanukah to a Christian friend, is it best to call it a Chanukah present (specifically highlighting giving and not receiving as the tradition) or a Christmas present (honoring the predilection of the recipient?)"

It's a little complicated and perhaps a bit long to fit into a comment, but the starting place for my answer is that the act of giving the gift is the element that honours the tradition, so in general you would give me a Channukah gift and I would give you a Christmas gift, and accepting each other's gifts would be a sign that we respect each other's holidays and traditions, not that we felt we had to participate in each other's celebrations. But if we were personally so close to each other that we might want to share each other's holiday traditions, then I might give you a Channukah gift or you give me a Christmas gift and have it come across as "sweet" instead of strange. Absent such a close personal relationship, that would feel a little odd.

OTOH, sometimes, "I got you a [Christmas|Channukah] gift, but I'm giving it to you today so that it can serve as a [Channukah|Christmas] present as well" works. I'm not sure I can quite put my finger on what makes that work or not (relationship-wise, that is; other than how the calendars happen to line up in any given year)

There was one time I received a Taoist Christmas present, but that was a deliciously ironic accident rather than an attempt to bridge two traditions.