A Jewish Christmas Eve

I have a Jewish friend who has his kids take pictures with Santa every year. Not being Jewish, I think it is a little odd.

 

Yes. If you really want to go back to the origins of Christmas, it was a half-pagan/half-secular holiday that Christians attached themselves to. "Hey, everybody, that festival you have every year? Keep doing what you're doing, but now it's in honor of our God."

That's a really huge oversimplification of course. Here's a perfectly reliable and uncontroversial source on this non-controversial subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas#Pre-Christian_background

 

From Benny Hill:

Roses are reddish,
Violets are bluish,
If it weren't for Christmas
We'd all be Jewish.

Nothing wrong with wishing people a merry Christmas. It is a kindness in a not so kind world. I presume that atheists and agnostics take no offence when people extend themselves to be polite.

 

My dad was the manager of a retail store and I worked there, too, at the end of high school and during college years. I quickly adopted the "Happy Holidays" phrase to avoid offending anybody.
And here's why: We are not Jewish, but my dad could pass for being Jewish (prominent nose, etc.). He always took his vacation in September and one time during his vacation, one of the regular customers asked for him. I told the guy he was on vacation. The guy said, "Oh good, it's nice he could take the time off during Rosh Hashana." I just laughed. I had no inclination to slap him upside the head.

 

And you weren't six years old. Y'all are acting like I'm the one who is bothered by it. I'm not. It's my daughter, who is six and the only kid in her class that does not celebrate Christmas. And like most Jewish kids, she just hit that phase where faith becomes a divisive force in her life and she hasn't gotten over it yet.

I never said it was rational and it is my job to get over it, but if none of you understands the urge to smack somebody who upsets your kid, you either don't have one or something is a bit off about you. It is just stunning the bullshit people will grasp on to on here.

I should be more specific. The actual incident that ticked me off the other day wasn't a simple "Merry Christmas." The woman asked my daughter something about getting ready for Santa to visit. When my little one was unable to formulate an answer, I explained to the woman that we don't celebrate Christmas because we are Jewish. The apology was quite awkward.

 

Here's a nice life lesson for all parents. When something happens to upset your child, you'd be wise to take a moment to consider whether or not it happened inadvertently, as a matter of course, with no malice or ill will intended. If that is the case, there is nothing wrong with explaining to your child that they don't necessarily need to be upset by what has happened.

Life is too short, folks. I think we should all look for fewer reasons to be offended and for more reasons to see the good intended in a kind gesture, even if that gesture is misplaced as it was in the case of oop's daughter.

 

yep

 

My friend was a nanny for a home with a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. I bet each of their parents just loved that union.

 

I am Jewish, have been since day 8.

There are pictures of me as a kid sitting on Santa's lap. It didn't prevent me from being Bar Mitzvahed at The Wall in Jerusalem.

I love wishing people a Merry Christmas and I find it's more and more appreciated every year.

 

What were you on days 1-7?