Two years ago, when I came out to one of my closest friends as a potential convert to Judaism, he asked, “What about Christmas? Won’t you miss Christmas?”
“No, of course not. It is just a day we get together as a family, it doesn’t have any religious meaning. Besides, I don’t even decorate for Christmas.”
This morning on the bus, I was crying very unexpected tears. My sister called last night to talk about planning Christmas. We would be doing dinner on the 23rd or 24th, so they could have Christmas as a small family. That’s how we do it in our family. Christmas Eve is for extended family, Christmas morning is for Mom, Dad and children. Now that my nephew is old enough to enjoy Christmas, they are going to get this Christmas morning thing started.
I had been very excited to spend a four day weekend for my family and now I’ll be coming back to Chicago on Christmas Eve. Along the way, I seem to have forgotten that as the Jewish Aunt, I gave up Christmas morning and being with my family. I’m not saying I regret it, I just never imagined the Christmas when I wouldn’t be with my family and wouldn’t have my own family yet to do Jewish Chicago stuff.
Any other converts out there have trouble getting used to (no) Christmas? Sure, it is just a day and sure, it had no religious meaning… but it is where I came from and this year I miss it. Someone start planning to take me to a movie on Christmas, start planning now.
Hey Leah,
timely post just this morning i was listening to something on public radio about x-mass and i got a little teared up myself. i guess it hit me that i was a Jew and this was my xmas. anyhow then a remembered how awful it usually turns out for me and that i have never really liked all the (excluding my childhood years) the hype. So now i feel fine.
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Hey Leah,
timely post just this morning i was listening to something on public radio about x-mass and i got a little teared up myself. i guess it hit me that i was a Jew and this was my xmas. anyhow then a remembered how awful it usually turns out for me and that i have never really liked all the (excluding my childhood years) the hype. So now i feel fine.
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