Wishing all of my Christian friends a blessed and joyous Christmas!
CHRISTMAS TO ME
Christmas is a holiday that is interesting for Jews. We revel in the spirit of the season, its lights, its songs and its spirit. Yet, it is not our holiday. As a Jew, I welcome and share in the celebration of Christmas in the same way as I respect and celebrate Muslim and Hindu friends celebrating Eid and Diwali. At this time of year, the holidays offer a welcome reminder that we can all celebrate different traditions, while respecting them all and sharing in their joy.
As a Jew on Christmas, one is used to jokes about our “special” ways to celebrate—like going to an uncrowded movie theatre followed by a visit to the local Chinese restaurant. When I was a kid, we made sure to drive home down streets we knew would be adorned with Christmas lights. I’ve always found it particularly apt that the Hanukkah—the “festival of lights”—occurs around the time of Christmas, celebrated with beautiful lighting displays. The love many Jews have for Christmas extends to the music. I still can sing (well, my version of singing) any number of Christmas carols I remember from fifth grade choir. Back in the day when we tuned in to radio stations, we heard Christmas music during “drive time” from Thanksgiving through the new year.
But most important, one need not celebrate Christmas—or Hanukkah—to revel in the spirit of the holidays. They bring a sense of shared celebration and good feelings and a much-needed “breather” to count our blessings and commune with family and friends.
A couple of years ago I shared one of my favorite Christmas memories. It’s worth sharing again. As a child, there was a holiday assembly for the kids of our age (I’m guessing around second grade) to which parents were invited. The kids got to meet Santa. My father played Santa—he did this more than once. When I walked up to meet Santa the first time he did this, I whispered to Santa, “Hi, Dad” and told him that he didn’t fool me. Later I asked him why he played Santa. He smiled and said, “I do it so that someone else doesn’t have to do it. This way, all the Christian fathers get to enjoy meeting Santa with their children.” From him I learned to enjoy the Christmas season, not only for the ancillary benefits I experienced because it brings such joy to other people. This is but one of the many lessons in life I learned from “Dr. Bill.”
CHRISTMAS MOVIES
Over the years there have been a variety of movies around Christmas. I have two favorites. The first is A Christmas Carol, in its various incarnations. My favorite version of A Christmas Carol remains “Scrooge,” starring Albert Finney, from the 1970s. It is an under-appreciated Leslie Bricusse musical version. The second is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, a classic that brings a tear every time I watch it (particularly when Jimmy Stewart’s brother shows up at the end and toasts him—“to my big brother George, the richest man in town”). Miracle on 34th Street is cute. Then, of course, there are Die Hard and Home Alone, for their peculiar spins on the season.
If Capra or Dickens brings a tear to your eye and you’re looking to feel good while watching a beautifully filmed movie, try Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, starring Dev Patel and a multi-racial cast. In the end it all “comes together,” as most Dickens does, in a delightful fashion. As for Capra, there hardly is a more apropos movie in these fraught times than Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
A very Merry Christmas to all and a happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous new year!
And in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us all, every one.”
Glenn
From the archives:
LOVE the story about your dad.
Remember that many of us who decorate our homes and celebrate Christmas are dyed-in-the-wool atheists. I give slightly more credence to the Bigfoot story then to that of some virgin delivering the offspring of a mystical being.
Hi Glenn - what a nice story about your dad! What a memory. I have a great Christmas CD, the songs that parents the age of ours were listening to in the late 50's and early 60s'. I love this one. I'll post the entire cd for the guys in the group text. Have a good day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-yDQH5JaIA