December 16: First and foremost, a very Happy Hanukkah to all those prepared to celebrate the Festival of Lights this evening! During this day, Jewish people around the world not only celebrate the beginning of the Miracle of Lights, but also the victory they had over the Seleucid monarchy about 2180 years ago to regain the Temple and within 23 years, regain their Jewish autonomy. The Festival of Lights celebrates the miracle canister of oil that burned during the re-dedication of the Temple for eight days, the length of time it took to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the menorah. Many foods fried in oil are eaten during the celebration to mark the significance of the burning fuel. In addition to those foods, many Jewish families also celebrate with dairy and cheese to mark the victory of Judith beheading Holofernes after getting him full and drunk on cheese and wine. These traditions are beautiful in their symbolism and history, the same way we Christians celebrate our holiday. And while we may not have the same celebration, we do celebrate together. For instance, take the Christmas song. Many people will stop and wonder, why are so many Christmas Songs written by Jewish people? White Christmas, Let It Snow, Santa Baby, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting…), Silver Bells, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and more have all been written by Jewish people. Strange? Not really. As Lauren Markoe writes, in the early 20th century Jews flocked to the music industry because it was one place where they were not slammed with Antisemitism. And as a part of this industry, they began to see Christmas as more of an American Tradition to celebrate family and loved ones. They began composing songs, not about Jesus, but about the tradition of the season itself – Santa Claus, Rudolph, Bells, Snow, etc. And while some ardent Christians may find this lack of focus upsetting, I find it inclusive and consistent with what Christmas encompasses. It is a celebration of the birth of Christ, but in that birth came man’s salvation. Not just Christians that attend church every week! And who knows, perhaps by including the celebration of the season and everything it entails, there might just be some Jewish boy in Minnesota that hears a song about Santa and decides to look further into the reason people sing about Christmas. It is possible, right? https://youtube/watch?v=a8qE6WQmNus
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 06:34:46 +0000
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