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Sparkle (1)
There are a lot of things I like about Chanukkah -- having friends and family over, lighting the candles, and gambling with m&ms and a dreidel (sorry, I hate fried foods, so latkes and sufganiyot don't make the list). But what ruins the holiday for me is the Christmasization and commercialization of it simply due to its proximity to that other winter holiday.
I'm not talking about the gift giving or the emergence of Chanukkah candy (usually in scary blue and white colours to compete with the ubiquitous red and white candy canes). I'm talking about the fact that there are 16 Jewish holidays not counting Israeli holidays that many of us also celebrate such as Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) or Yom Ha'Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). Seven of those holidays are important enough that Jews don't go to work on those days. Guess which holiday isn't one of those seven? That's right -- the minor holiday of Chanukkah.
Every non-Jew knows about it, every token Jew in the school is asked to educate the class about it (and yes, I have already been asked to come into the twins' school and teach the kids about Chanukkah traditions), it's written on every calender, and the White House even lights a freakin' chanukkiah. But traditionally, it has never been an important holiday for Jews. And frankly, it makes me a little depressed that for a lot of non-Jews, it's the only holiday they really know. (Seriously, I just told you that there were 16 holidays -- how many can you name?)
Christmas is wonderful. I love your music and listen to it nonstop from Thanksgiving until the holiday (my favourite: "O Holy Night"). I love your candy. Sparkle lights are gorgeous, and I've been known to take extremely circuitous routes home in order to gawk at as many decorated houses as possible. It sounds lovely to give and receive gifts. But it's your holiday; it's not mine.
And I don't really understand when people treat Chanukkah as if it were a Jewish Christmas. When they stress about gift buying and talk about the parties they're going to attend and send out holiday cards and listen to holiday music -- that's how you celebrate commercialized Christmas. And while I like to participate in Christmas via friends or family members who celebrate Christmas, when I return to my own, Jewish world, I want my holidays to look like my holidays. Right now, Chanukkah is looking like that girl who came back from summer vacation with a nose job. You know what I'm talking about, right? Every school has the girl who didn't tell anyone she was going to get it done, and we're all expected to keep silent as if she doesn't have an entirely new face.
As much as people want to believe that Christmas is a secular holiday that can be celebrated by everyone, I think the fact that Christ's name appears in the title sort of says it all. This is a holiday about the birth of Christ. Yes, people have taken Christmas and commercialized it -- but just because something is commercialized doesn't mean that it's secular. Nor does the fact that the majority of people in this country celebrate it make it accessible to all. Christmas is a Christian holiday, and I like that it is a Christian holiday. I don't want it watered down or changed, nor do I want my holiday looking like your holiday.
So this is what Chanukkah is about: it's a somewhat insignificant holiday meant to commemorate the time that King Antiochus instated laws not allowing Jews to practice their religion and the Macabees fought back. It's a story about guerrilla warfare and a revolution. About not waiting for G-d to intercede on your behalf, but fighting back against injustice. It is about a time when life sucked hardcore for the Jews and instead of putting down their heads and crying, they rolled up their sleeves and restored the Temple.
In other words, it's a pretty cool holiday on its own, but where gifts and sweetness have a place in a birthday celebration for Christ, presents and candy don't really commemorate a war. Jews don't celebrate war
