Posted on 12/24/2011 10:14:49 PM PST by JoeProBono
Christmas is not a Jewish holiday. Many Christians think of Christmas as an American holiday, a secular holiday or a cultural holiday, but most Jews today do not think of Christmas that way. According to the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey, 82% of Jewish households never have a Christmas tree (and the idea of a "Chanukkah bush" is mostly a joke, not anything anybody takes seriously). The same percentage was found in a 2000 survey by the AJC, though I'm sure that survey skewed toward the more Jewishly-involved. Even among those who are intermarried, only half have a Christmas tree in the home and only 75% give Christmas presents (see Intermarriage and Jewish Journeys). A 2007 survey by InterfaithFamily.com found that only 37% of interfaith families that have decided to raise the children Jewish have a tree in the home. It has become a cliché to talk about the "December Dilemma," the problems that Jewish parents face when their children become jealous of the presents and the fanfare of Christmas, or when interfaith couples must decide what to do for the December holidays.
Many Jews (even highly assimilated Jews) are uncomfortable about Christmas. We don't object to Christians celebrating Christmas, but we don't particularly want to celebrate it ourselves, and there is enormous social pressure to celebrate Christmas, whether we want to or not. One Jewish writer said it's like being a man in the lingerie department: you feel like you don't belong there. Another Jewish writer said, "just try telling a Christmas enthusiast that the creche in front of your post office makes you uneasy; suddenly, 'frosty' describes more than just the snowman." Many secular Christians have told me that Christmas is my holiday too, and some of them get very angry or even nasty when I tell them that I don't want to celebrate it, calling me "Grinch" or "Scrooge." ......
Go out for Chinese food Many Jews go out for Chinese food on Christmas. In fact, Justice Elena Kagan mentioned this in her Supreme Court confirmation hearings: when a senator asked her where she was on Christmas, she said, "You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant." Someone even wrote a song about Jews eating Chinese Food On Christmas. The Chinese do not celebrate Christmas any more than we do, so most Chinese restaurants are open on Christmas. In Philadelphia and New York, there are several kosher-certified Chinese restaurants to choose from, so that even the most observant Jew can eat Chinese on Christmas............
Not quite.
Not quite.
Not quite.
Not quite.
Come, everyone knows we, we,.....ah hell, I’m Catholic.
The ones I know come over and enjoy the season with friends.
I’ll hold you to that ‘cuz ya never know when I’ll finally snap....LOL
Merry Christmas to you too, Fred.
BWAAAHAAAHAAA!!!!
Either let go of the post button or the post.
(Running for the rain suit)
The multiple post was a boo-boo. Sorry.
Oh.
I thought you were yanking, ummm, my chain....
Wishing you and your whole family a Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year; Yaelle!
May you never feel lonely, your family happy and prosperous and your plates and glasses always be full!
What do Jews do on Christmas? Not a whole lot!
Back atchya, Joe....:)
It’s hard to be a Jew on Christmas
My Friends won’t let me join in any games..
And I can’t sing Christmas songs
Or decorate a Christmas tree..
Or leave water out for Rudolph
Cos there’s something wrong with me..
My people don’t believe in Jesus Christ’s divinity..
I’m a Jew, a Lonely Jew.. on Christmas.
Hanukkah is nice, but why is it,
That Santa passes over my house every year?
And instead of eating Ham
I have to eat Kosher LATKEES..
Instead of Silent Night
I’m singing hou-hazch-tou-gavish..
And what the fuck is up
With lighting all these fucking Candles, tell me please?
I’m a Jew, a Lonely Jew..
I’d be merry but I’m Hebrew, on Christmas
Hey Little Boy, I can’t help but hear,
You’re feeling left out of Christmas Cheer..
But i’ve come to see that you shouldn’t be sad
‘Cos this is the one month that you shoud be glad..
Because it’s nice to be a Jew on Christmas
You don’t have to deal with the season at all..
You don’t have to be on your best behaviour, or give to charity
You don’t have to go to grandma’s house with your alcoholic family..
And I don’t have to sit on some fake Santa’s lap
And have him breathe his stinky breath on me!
That’s right! You’re a Jew, a Stylin’ Jew..
It’s a good time, to be Hebrew.. on Christmas.
In my family, we have some old friends who are Jewish and they always come over to share Christmas dinner with us. It’s nice because my family is very small and their family is spread across the globe from Israel to California.
This year, we are also inviting an elderly nun who is a long-time friend of both our families.
Um...you okay?
;]
;-{)
Benjy Stone, "My Favorite Year", 1982
We saw a movie a a theater and now I am up working. Most Jews, like myself, end up working on Christmas, so the gentiles can have the day off. I work Easter too!
;]
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