The December Dilemma
Since Jews around the world will be lighting their first Hanukkah candle tonight, I thought I'd take a few moments to share my thoughts on the "December Dilemma".For those not in the know, the "December Dilemma" is the affectionate term for the position Western Jews find themselves facing each December when a tsunami of both secular and Christian celebration and commercialism threatens to extinguish the flames of Jewish distinction. This dilemma is felt most strongly by Jews with young children, who fear the little tots will become burdened by envy as visions of unattainable sugarplums dance in their heads.
For those who frequent my web site, you see we've put up a not-so-traditional arborial display that I've dubbed as the "Tree of Life". (The distinction from a "Hanukkah Bush" is that our Tree of Life is a year-round display, with ornamentation changing for each of the Jewish holidays.)
I've engaged in a few spirited discussions with fellow Jews since we adorned the ficus with blue lights and Hanukkah gelt, some finding it to be an inovative solution and others finding it to smack of assimilation to a Christian culture.
While I sincerely do appreciate the perspective of those who wish to keep a more authentic or "pure" Jewish home, for me it would be depressing not to get into the spirit of "the holiday season." American culture has been my culture longer and more deeply than Jewish culture is, given that my own upbringing was secular, and thus I find it too difficult to simply turn my back on lights and ginger cookies and a splash of fantasy.
These things, I think, are harmless fun, and certainly less of a threat than the bigger day-to-day questions of establishing a Jewish identity for myself and my children. (Should we observe some measure of kashrut? Is one mezuzah for the house enough? Can I manage to get a Shabbat observance together every week?) The important element for me, is adapting these traditions and presenting them to my children in a Jewish context - thus the reason I adopted an all-holiday ficus rather than a temporary evergreen, and why we made up a story about a dreidel fairy bringing pillow-chocolate that we don't take seriously instead of a man in a red suit that we do. Are these things assimilations of what we have come to identify with as Christmas? Certainly. But I can just hear the conversations once held by Christians long ago:
"You're really going to put a tree in our house for our holiday? That's so.. so.. pagan!"
Of all the things in my life that are not distinctly Jewish, my lighted ficus is likely the least of them.
Enjoy the coming weeks, whatever your religious holiday or none at all (let's not forget the Baha'is and the Zoroastrians, to name a few!), and form your traditions in a way that brings you and your family joy and harmony in a culture of revelry.
Labels: chanukah, christmas, december, dilemma, hanukkah, holiday
posted by Jennifer Johnson @ 4:05 PM
3 Comments:
Unlimited Earnings Potential - http://1greatfuture.com
Our company is rapidly growing and offers you an extraordinary income helping others succeed. The primary requirement is to follow up on client inquiries and point them in the right direction. It is stress free, rewarding and straightforward work.
For complete details: http://1greatfuture.com
(Please feel free to delete this post if you don't want it on your blog. Thanks for the informative blog and opportunity to post.)
Welcome to our website for you World of Warcraft Gold,Wow Gold,Cheap World of Warcraft Gold,cheap wow gold,buy cheap wow gold,real wow gold,sell wow gold, ...Here wow gold of 1000 gold at $68.99-$80.99 ,World Of Warcraft Gold,world of warcraft gold buy wow gold,sell world of warcraft gold(wow gold),buy euro gold wow Cheap wow gold,cheapest wow gold store ... buy euro gold wow wow gold--buy cheap wow gold,sell wow gold.welcome to buy cheap wow gold--cheap, easy,world of warcraft gold wow gold purchasing.World of Warcraft,wow gold Super ...
We can have your wow gold,buy wow gold,wow gold game,world of warcraft gold, wow Gold Cheap wow, Cheap wow gold,world of warcraft gold deal,Cheap WOW Gold ...
Welcome to our website for you World of Warcraft Gold,Wow Gold,Cheap World of Warcraft Gold,wow gold,buy cheap wow gold,real wow gold,sell wow gold, ...
Here wow gold of 1000 gold at $68.99-$80.99,World Of Warcraft Gold,gold wow buy wow gold,sell world of warcraft gold(wow gold),buy gold wow lightninghoof instock Cheap wow gold,cheapest wow gold store ...
wow gold--buy cheap wow gold,sell wow gold.welcome to buy cheap wow gold--cheap, easy, wow gold purchasing.World of Warcraft,wow gold Super ...
Wow gold- Gold for buy gold wow lightninghoof instock EU-Server: ...wow Gold EU: starting from 84,99?; 3000 WoW Gold EU: starting from 119,99?. wow Gold- Leveling Services: ...
We can have your wow Gold,buy wow Gold,gold wow wow Gold game,wow gold, Cheap wow Gold, Cheap World of Warcraft Gold,world of warcraft gold deal,buy cheap wow gold,Cheap WOW Gold ...
Here wow Gold of 1000 gold at $68.99-$80.99,World Of Warcraft Gold,buy wow Gold,sell world of warcraft gold(wow gold),Cheap wow gold,cheapest World of Warcraft Gold store ...
Webmail program for the major free email sites -
http://inovasphere.com/mmail.htm
My Mail 1.0 is configured to work with AOL, Gmail, Hotmail, Linuxmail, and Yahoo. With My Mail 1.0 you get the benefit of premium services without having to pay site fees. My Mail 1.0 completely automates the process of sending and receiving mail from the major sites, saving you time and trouble.
My Mail 1.0 eliminates the need to visit web sites to send and receive mail, which increases the speed of sending and receiving email by over 80%, even if they do not offer what is known as POP3, IMAP and SMTP. My Mail 1.0's look is also fully customizable. One you use it, you'll never want to go back to the web site again to get your mail.
For complete details: http://inovasphere.com/mmail.htm
(Please feel free to delete this post if you don't want it on your blog. Thanks for the informative blog and opportunity to post.)
Post a Comment
<< Home