My 7 year old came home last night and asked me if we could have a menorah for Christmas too. I explained to him as best I could that a menorah was for Hanukah and that Jewish people celebrated Hanukah sometimes instead of Christmas. I also told him that since we are not Jewish that Mom doesn’t know a whole lot about the process.
Now, my knowledge of Hanukah is pretty close to nothing. Kwanzaa I could tell him about all day long. Christmas…I’ve got it covered. But I’m ignorant when it comes to Hanukah.
I told him I would give it some thought and I have done that a lot today. If I decide to let him do this and do some research to make sure I tell him the symbolism and such would that be offensive since we are not Jewish?
I don’t mind exposing him to other religions and traditions but I don’t want to come off as being offensive or insensitive.
I’m Jewish, and I know there are some Jewish families who actually put up little Christmas trees just to be festive. IMHO I don’t think you’d be insensitive or offensive, you’d be open-minded and teaching your kid to be the same.
I’ve met college-age people who don’t know that Jesus isn’t part of the Jewish religion. Guide your child well. ;j
Weeellll . . . You know that on the first night of Hanukah, the whole family dresses up like . . . Ants. Because the desert we wandered in had ants. And you sing the dreidel song while dancing the Ant Polka.
On the second night, because the, ummm, oil lasted eight days, you cover each other with oil and play Twister.
I was raised Catholic, but with a lot of Jewish friends and a close portion of extended family that’s also Jewish, I always wondered why Christians don’t celebrate this holiday as well. or any Jewish holiday for that matter. I mean, sure, we’re Christians, and not Jewish, but…don’t we have pretty much the same background? It always seemed odd to me that, as a religion that grew out of Judaism, Christianity has completely dumped all of the Jewish traditions with the exception of reading the Old Testament. Christians still hold that they and the Jews worship the same God and come from the same background, so why is it they don’t celebrate the same holidays, just with a few extras added on for good measure?
;j I wouldn’t be offended. I admit, I’d think it’s a bit strange… But given the reason, why not?
But in my opinion, if you’re going to do it, do it right. Teach your son a little bit about why we celebrate Channukah. See this site.
Get yourself a menorah, and a pack of 44 candles. There are 8 nights which you light candles. You light them from right to left, always with the middle candle.
On the first night (December 19th, this year), you light the middle candle, and with it then light the far right candle. That’s it.
On the second night, you light the middle candle, and with it then light the two candles on the far right. And so on and so forth until you’ve done all 8 nights.
Have a great time! And if you want to go all out, you can pick out a dreidl (like a spinning top game) and make some potato pancakes (or anything fried in oil).
PS: Jews do NOT believe that Jesus was a prophet (and of course, nor the messiah) Jews believe that Moshiach (the Messiah) has yet to come.
Aries28, your idea is lovely and not offensive. An alternative is to attend a public candle lighting offered by a local synagogue or havurah. The first night tends to be very educational with commentary about the story behind the ritual.
t-bonham, I think you have been misinformed. Jesus is not recognized by Jews as one of the “‘prophets.’” More liberal Jews consider him a great teacher of peace.
I think it’s nice, mixing cultures like that. You have no “Jewishness” in your family, except that now your son seems to have an interest in the Jewish culture, so I say go for it.
Later this month I’ll be celebrating Christmas and Hannukah at the same time with my mother and her boyfriend, a first for me. I’m looking forward to it.
My father was raised Jewish, my mother Irish-Catholic. She technically converted upon marrying Dad, but let’s be honest … I had a mess of Catholic relatives, and neither of my parents were all that gung-ho about religion. A typical December evening in my family went something like “Happy Chanukah, go plug in the tree.” I still get Passover Baskets, complete with chocolate-covered matzoh and marshmallow peeps. I was never educated in any religion, no CCD, no Hebrew school, no communion, no bat mitzvah. Everything I know about the Bible, I learned from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alex Trebek.
And I think I enjoy the holidays more than anyone I know. Because I was raised free of the religious traditions accompanying it, the holiday season is, for me, just an excuse to be happy, love my fellow man, etc. etc. ad nauseam.
I think it’s a marvelous idea to teach your son about other religions, especially if he has Jewish friends. It promotes understanding, tolerance, yadda yadda yadda, and there’s EIGHT nights of presents!!
Just try to get across that before the mid/late twentieth century, Hanukkah was about as important in the grand Jewish scheme of things as, say, Advent for Christians. Most would know when it was and what things you’re supposed to do, but no one would take off work for it, for example. Hanukkah gifts were pretty much unknown until sometime this century. The whole “Jewish Christmas” thing is really a combination of Jewish parents not wanting their kids to feel so left out of all the Christmas brouhaha and marketing types not wanting to leave out anyone in all the holiday frenzy. It’s been really amped up in the last dozen years or so as schools, TV programs, and even institutions of other religions strive to be more “inclusive”.
I concur with Geoduck – take your son to a public menorah lighting. Try to find one geared towards kids where they’ll explain the holiday in kid-friendly terms. Unless Son of Sauron is strongly interested in ancient military history.
Learning about other religions is a good thing. Practicing other religions, though, is a whole 'nother pan of latkes. ;j
My opinion is that a non-Jew shouldn’t be lighting a menorah, because it’s not their holiday. It’s not nearly as bad as a Jew putting up a Christmas tree or a so-called “Chanukah bush,” because the burden is on the Jew to resist the temptations of assimilation.
Bottom line, IMO: Celebrate your faith’s holiday, and enjoy other people’s parties.
I like Geoduck’s idea of going to a local synagogue for their celebration. That way you can see how it’s done for real, rather than trying to wing it yourself, especially saying all three blessings.
You’re in Birmingham, right? Not to be offensive, but are there even any synagogues there?
Actually, Hanukkah isn’t even mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. The Hanukkah story can be found in the Book of Maccabees, which is not canonical to Jews or Protestants. It always struck me as odd that the only people who consider it canonical are the Catholics. (Well, I don’t have an Orthodox Bible, maybe they consider it canon too, I don’t know.)
That’s why Hanukkah is such a minor holiday. The major holidays are the ones mentioned in the Torah, and then there’s Purim, which isn’t in the Torah, but it is in the Tanakh (the Book of Esther), and then there’s Hanukkah and a whole host of post-Biblical holidays that you’ve probably never heard of (Tu b’Shvat, etc.)
