What Do Jews Do on Christmas? [Link]
Funny. The first thing on the list? Go out for Chinese food!
They’ve left out something critical in this handy FAQ page, though. It’s this: Join our Christian family members and/or friends in their holiday celebrations. It can be just delightful to watch other people’s kids gleefully unwrapping their presents. My favorite thing, as I’ve mentioned before, is decorating Christmas trees. There’s often an outstanding feed at Christmas and what’s wrong with that? What, you can’t eat a little something? Oy! Maybe if you’re in an all-Jewish community or an Orthodox Jew you don’t join someone else’s celebrations, but if you’re not…what are you, some kind of big shot? You can’t sit with your neighbors for a little nosh? (Okay, I admit it. When I’m in Seattle on Christmas day, I go out for dim sum with my friends who aren’t observing the 25th as Christmas.)
We celebrate Christmas on the 24th here – tonight. We’ll go over around 6 and decorate the tree. We’ll turn off the lights and oooh and ahhh as my brother in law lights the sparklers. Then, we’ll go through a silly song and dance when everyone runs upstairs to look out the window for the “Christkind” who delivers the prezzies. (Not Santa. Interesting, eh?) Sometime in there we’ll have a long sit down at the table to eat. Typically, we have a cold buffet spread that might start with some soup. Salads, rolls, cheese, and excellent local smoked fish. (Yum. I love this stuff. I brought a smoked salmon from home as a contribution.) Then we will sit at the table and drink champagne and maybe have some coffee while Mean Uncle Ubi (Julius) helps set up whatever technically challenging toy our young nephew has received.
If we’re lucky and the ice is good, on Christmas day we’ll go skating and maybe eat leftovers. Or, we’ll toss the skis in the car and spend a little time on the trails. Our snow is abundant and excellent.
And yes, I will light my menorah before we go. I might bring it with me to dinner, but that’s post sundown. I suppose there’s nothing to stop me from lighting it twice, eh?
Enjoy, everyone. The solstice has passed and that means from now on, we get more light. Whatever your religion, the passing of the darkest days is something to celebrate.
As we were perusing movie listings last night, I reminded J that my brother had mentioned wanting to take the entire family to see King Kong this weekend. (Not something I care to see, but whatever…) J goes, “So we’re gonna squeeze in a movie tomorrow (Christmas Eve)?” I said, “Well, tomorrow…or on Sunday…” “The theatres are open on CHRISTMAS DAY?!” Dude. Of course. (Then it dawned on me…in his family, going to see a movie on Christmas Day would be sacrilege…but somehow he didn’t think going to the beach was…ha!) I should have said, “What do you think (my last employer, Jewish) did every Christmas Day?” Which would have really confused him since those same folks had us over to their house for a party every year that invariably included a 12-foot tall gorgeous Christmas tree. 🙂
Enjoy your holidays…however you spend them.. 😉
Here in MSP, the Cedar Cultural Center (a theatre/nightclub/community centre in the West Bank of the University District) is doing a Jewish Christmas Extravaganza today. They’re serving catered in Chinese food and showing non-stop Yentl.