Growing up, I never believed in Santa Claus. I didn’t decorate a tree. I didn’t bake holiday cookies. Instead, I had Hanukkah Harry. I lit the menorah and played dreidel and made latkes.
Now, this isn’t some big revelation here in college. There’s a sizable Jewish population here at the University of Oregon and we’re all very tolerant of everybody and their differences. Diversity is celebrated and I’m able to experience the Jewish holidays at Oregon Hillel or with the other Jewish organizations on campus. College students are also more familiar with Hanukkah and Judaism in general.
But when I was a kid, my friends couldn’t understand that I didn’t do any of the typical holiday things. When I told them that I celebrated Hanukkah instead they struggled to understand the concept of not celebrating Christmas.
“But you still have a Christmas tree right?” they would ask. And of course I would say “No, we have a menorah instead.”
When I would say we celebrate over eight nights they would ask if I got presents every single night (the answer is no by the way). Class holiday parties were Christmas-themed without a shred of Hanukkah spirit. My schools weren’t anti-Semitic; they just didn’t represent other holidays during this season. I had to be the one to bring latkes and teach my classmates about Jewish traditions during the holidays.
Granted, it’s difficult for children to understand ideas that are different then what they’re used to but I don’t see this as an excuse in today’s politically correct, all-inclusive society. Christmas shouldn’t be the most prevalent holiday during this season if we’re trying to treat all kinds of people equally.
Just because Christianity is the majority religion in the United States doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be giving equal representation to other religions and holidays as well. I was at our beloved Duck Store last week and noticed multiple displays of Christmas gifts and decorations. I couldn’t find any Hanukkah gifts (or other non-Christmas holiday gifts for that matter) until I went around the display and noticed a few small Hanukkah-related items on the bottom of a shelf. I was annoyed at the lack of presence Hanukkah had in the store, and in any other large commercial store in the country.
However, besides this instance, I have noticed more of an inclusion of Hanukkah in the media. I was flipping through the channels one morning and noticed that an episode of the children’s show Super Why featured a Jewish character explaining the story and traditions of Hanukkah. It made me as hopeful as my younger self watching the episodes of Rugrats when they reenacted the stories of Hanukkah and Passover. This week on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert celebrated Hanukkah with eight videos of celebrities honoring the holiday.
I’m glad to see Hanukkah be more included in the holiday season, but it still needs to be explained so that everyone can enjoy it. I personally don’t want kids to go through what I did.
The point is: Christmas isn’t the only holiday happening during this season but the over-saturation of it can lead people to believe that it is the only one. Get festive, but also get educated.