Eight Things I Like About Christmas*

‘Tis the season, so everyone says. And sometimes, those of us who don’t celebrate Christmas can feel a little left out. Sure, wishes of Happy Holidays can give us the illusion that people are trying to be inclusive, and in some cases, they totally are, but in my experience, the majority of people get Christmas on the brain from mid-October until the New Year. It used to bother me. It still does sometimes. But I’ve also discovered that there are a lot of things that I like about the Christmas season.

1. People wishing me “Merry Christmas”: Okay, I’ll admit that in front of my kids, I do correct people, gently, by saying, “Thank you, but we celebrate Chanukah.” I have to set a good example for them and I want them to be proud of their religion and not feel like they have to hide it. But honestly, it truly doesn’t bother me, especially when I’m alone. To me, there are parts of Christmas that have gotten so commercialized, that having a salesperson say this to me seems like more of a marketing ploy than a religious statement and I realize that Thanksgiving to New Year’s is a store’s biggest sales time of year. If they want to wish me Merry Christmas, fine with me. It’s nice to have people being friendly. Besides, each time they do, I get a tiny bit of revenge (one of those nyah-nyah moments, if you will) on that nasty girl named Joan in my middle school who made fun of me for “looking” Jewish.

2. Calling a Christmas tree a Christmas tree: For some reason, people have started calling them “Holiday” trees. Totally not necessary (and more than slightly ridiculous). The only holiday that uses a tree is Christmas. Call it what it is. That would be like me calling a Chanukah Menorah a Holiday Candelabra.

3. Christmas songs in stores: If the store wants to play them, that’s fine with me. I tune out most music anyway—hello, I’m the mother of a 13 year old and an 11 year old. It’s the ONLY way I stay sane. Yes, they get stuck in my head, and I recognize the irony of a nice Jewish girl singing Christmas songs, but then, so do my kids’ songs—One Direction is going to be the death of me!

4. Christmas decorations: I actually really like them. I think they’re pretty and festive. There are some I prefer more than others (and I do wish people would stick to a single theme), but then, I think most people have preferences. My current favorite, and that of my daughter as well, is the “Santa pig,” although I just saw a purple hippo dressed up for Christmas that is a really close second. The running lights, though, make me nauseous. What I dislike are Chanukah decorations that look too much like Christmas ones. Each holiday has its own identity and just because something is blue and white does not make it less Christmassy.

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5. The feeling that Christmas is EVERYWHERE: It is. There’s no getting around that fact. And you know what? That’s okay. There is something very special about having a holiday that not everyone celebrates. I like that it hasn’t been commercialized as much as Christmas has, although I’ll admit to it taking a lot of work to turn it into something more than eight days’ worth of presents. And it makes the few stores that do decorate for Chanukah all the more appreciated.

6. My grocery store’s total confusion over all Jewish holidays: Okay, this honestly goes for any holiday, but I’m putting it on this list. I really appreciate my grocery store putting together a Chanukah display. It truly does make me feel welcome. I appreciate the effort. And I get a huge laugh out of some of the foods they choose to display as Chanukah foods, which I really need sometimes!

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For anyone who doesn’t know, the triangle cookies are called Hamentaschen and are eaten during Purim, which usually falls in February.

7. Christmas sales: Of course, this one only works when Chanukah falls late enough to coincide with, or close enough to, Christmas. I love getting deals on things I’m planning to buy. Sure, I wish they’d start earlier, or have gift boxes about a month before they usually carry them, and I wish the lines were shorter, but the sales, when I can get them, are awesome.

8. People’s friendliness: Cynics may say they’re only being friendly because they want you to remember them and give them a gift, but I like it when people are friendly, regardless of the reason. It makes the crowds easier to deal with and the long lines more bearable. And honestly, who wouldn’t prefer friendliness to grumpiness? Is the friendliness fake? Could be. But who hasn’t faked being nice occasionally. Perhaps if more of us did that more often, we’d forget how to be mean.

*I’m sure I could come up with more, but then it wouldn’t fit in with the eight days of Chanukah