Thursday, December 09, 2004
Or, don't screw it up
Along with mass-market merchandising, Chanukah hasn't gotten just time. In some quarters, it has simply merged with Christmas to create a new end-of-year, quasi-ecumenical, yet non-religious holiday, called, by some, "Chrismukkah."
...
Decrying any of this may be as futile as spitting into the wind, but it still behooves us to remember that, the calendar notwithstanding, Chanukah really doesn't fit into the mold that the ignorant would like to stuff it into.
The mixed message that Chrismukkah brings us does the children of intermarriage no favors. Those who seek to give the next generation a piece of their Jewish heritage by combining it with the traditions of another faith are actually asserting that neither has validity. Religion may have been drained out of Christmas for many of our neighbors, but it is particularly inappropriate for us to follow suit.
I really think that I'm going to cut Santa out of the lives of my children, if at all possible. While this kind of stuff might have been good once, I've heard too many "Is Jesus fake like Santa?" stories to stomach the idea of feeding it to my children.
...
Decrying any of this may be as futile as spitting into the wind, but it still behooves us to remember that, the calendar notwithstanding, Chanukah really doesn't fit into the mold that the ignorant would like to stuff it into.
The mixed message that Chrismukkah brings us does the children of intermarriage no favors. Those who seek to give the next generation a piece of their Jewish heritage by combining it with the traditions of another faith are actually asserting that neither has validity. Religion may have been drained out of Christmas for many of our neighbors, but it is particularly inappropriate for us to follow suit.
I really think that I'm going to cut Santa out of the lives of my children, if at all possible. While this kind of stuff might have been good once, I've heard too many "Is Jesus fake like Santa?" stories to stomach the idea of feeding it to my children.
