The little-known Jewish holiday of Christmas Eve. Seriously.

slate ^ | Benyamin Cohen

[Mandingo Conservative]

The Talmud, with its share of rabbinic repudiations against Jesus, was never a big fan of Christmas. Call it the Grinch. Indeed, the rabbis looked at it as a day of mourning—perhaps due to the suffering that Jews encountered in Jesus' name throughout history. And Christmas Eve—named "Nittel Nacht" by Jewish scholars in the 17th century—took on a life of its own.

The Jewish community has long had a tense relationship with Christmas. You wouldn't know it by the two main customs observed by many 21st-century Jews on Dec. 25: eating Chinese food and being the first to see the Christmas blockbuster. But less well-known are the more historic—and, to be blunt, more bizarre—Christmas Eve customs that Jewish communities have kept secret, even from most Jews. As a public service announcement, I'm here to let you in on what the rabbis thought about Christmas Eve. Gather round, little ones. This is a scary tale.

[jjotto]

Better treatment:

http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2007/12/nittel-nacht-christmas-eve.html

[Moose Burger]

Interesting, but the mourning day mentioned seems more related to Asara B’Tevet, related to the siege of Jerusalem. Maybe someone at some point mixed things up.

[GOP Poet]

Bookmark

[jjotto]

Aserah b’Teves actually combines at least three commemorations: The translation of the Torah into Greek (8 Tevet), the yartzheit of Ezra the Scribe (9 Tevet), and the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (10 Tevet).

[ladyL]

Thank you for attempting to listen to this teaching. I wish you would have listened to the entire teaching as that would have made your review more credible. It seems you hit a place and applied your preconceived ideas to what was being said. I do however respect your opinion and thank you for giving it a try :)

[ladyL]

Thank you for attempting to listen to this teaching. I wish you would have listened to the entire teaching as that would have made your review more credible. It seems you hit a place and applied your preconceived ideas to what was being said. I do however respect your opinion and thank you for giving it a try :)

[ladyL]

>>Bacchiochi Staley cites as part of his argument was Jewish, no part whatsoever of the Catholic hierarchy (making a lie of the “Catholics State” page he presents). <<

As a matter of correction, Jim Staley is not a Seventh Day Adventist. Actually he is a Pastor of a church in St. Louis and a very gifted teacher. His website is www.passionfortruth.com. Check out his Truth or Tradition video on You Tube. That's Jim Staley.

[JoeProBono]