By Eliza Shaw
I love the Christmas lights as much as the next person and the trees are just beautiful, but where are the decorations for Hanukkah? Where are my latkes? Menorahs? Dreidels?
1. CON: Merry Christmas!
When someone tells you to have a “Merry Christmas,” try and stay calm. Their intentions are in the right place. And hey, if you want to reciprocate the warm wishes, just shoot them a Shalom and see how they react.
2. PRO: Chinese food
One of the best parts of Christmas for Jews is the abundance of Chinese food. Sure, those who celebrate Christmas have feasts on their table, but we have dumplings and sesame noodles on ours. Beat that!
3. CON: The lack of Hanukah movies
You got your Christmas comedies like Elf, A Christmas Story, and Home Alone. The Christmas love stories like Love Actually, Serendipity, and While You Were Sleeping. Where are the Hanukkah love stories? Listen, it’s not that I don’t love Christmas movies…trust me I do… but is it too much to ask for some movies that have Hanukkah as the main holiday? Just a thought!
4. PRO: We know all the good movies
That’s right! Not only do we get Chinese food, we also get a whole movie theater to ourselves! While everyone else is unwrapping their gifts and sitting by the fire, we are enthralled in the brand new Transformers: The Life of Shia Labeouf.
5. Con: Sad Decorations
Okay, so on one end there are Christmas trees, ornaments, tinsel, and mistletoe. On the other are menorahs, dreidels, and… well, that’s it. My family did try and make a Hanukkah bush last year to put our gifts under, but it just doesn’t give off the same holiday cheer as a bright Christmas tree. I love decorations and Christmas really knows how to do it…Hannukah, not so much!
6. PRO: Solidarity
No matter how many cons there might be for Jews around Christmas time…we do have solidarity. Sure, we don’t have huge holiday feasts and yeah, we are given only Chinese food as an option for dinner on Christmas day, but we do it together. Never feel alone in your struggles during Christmas time because there are so many around you who feel the same exact way. After all, what’s the saying? Oh right…Solidarity Sister!
Happy holidays and have a great new year!
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