It’s that time of the year again. The time of the year when everything is red and green and smells like cinnamon and pine. Phrases like “Be Jolly” and “Merry Christmas” illuminate storefronts and shopping malls nationwide and imagery of Santa Claus and nativity scenes are seemingly unavoidable. Growing up Jewish, I’ve always had something of an internal conflict when this time of the year rolls around. A part of me feels somewhat alienated, but a much, much larger part feels more excited than a child set free in a candy store.
As a child, it was constantly reinforced that this holiday was not mine to celebrate. And to be quite honest I get it, from both perspectives. I do have my own holiday around the same time, and it is a bit of an appropriation of a holiday that I have no connection to at all. But in my defense, how many people only celebrate Christmas, and never even go to church or even self-identify as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious? At the very least, I fully acknowledge that the parts of the holiday I love the most are the parts that have been manufactured to sell more crap that people don’t need. And I will buy it all.
But on the other hand, I recognize the religious element to this. Christ is the reason for the season, after all, and I’ll never deny anyone the ability to celebrate Christmas for what it actually is, and not the overly commercialized hallmark holiday it has become. So, if it is you who aim to #keepchristinchristmas, I say all the power to you. But at the very least, recognize that the holiday has been filtered with a heavy dose of mass appeal before you write a long-winded op-ed about how plain red Starbucks cups are a direct attack against your personal religion.
Christmas has come to define the holiday season in the United States at this point. I can stomp my foot and demand equal representation by way of including dreidels and menorahs alongside every single holiday display I see, but in the end what’s the point? Eighty-three percent of the United States identifies as Christian, and arguably even more than that partake in Christmas celebrations.
The real beauty of the holiday comes from the joy it brings to absolutely everyone. It’s come to mean families coming together and blissful reflections on the past year. Snapping at cashiers who wish you a merry Christmas or ranting inanely about how offended you are over gratuitous Christmas displays in private locations is essentially the very reason why the character of the Grinch was created in the first place.
I say, lean into it. Don’t lose sight of who you are or your personal religious convictions, but at the same time, don’t feel guilty about enjoying something merry and bright. If a friend invites you to their family’s celebration, go and enjoy the feeling of having a custom shared with you that is not your own. If not, eat some Chinese food and go to the movies, a custom that is very much your own.
