Christmas has always been a mystery to me. I see the lights and the trees and the sales, but I always wondered what it would be like to actually celebrate Christmas. My friends ask me things like “What do you do on Christmas if you are Jewish?” or “Do you actually go to the movies and eat Chinese food on Christmas?” Yes, we do go to the movies and eat Chinese food on Christmas. What else is there to do?! Christmas is just another day in my life; nothing special really happens for me on Christmas.
I actually remember getting upset around Christmas time when I was younger. I would always ask why there were so many Christmas lights and decorations on the houses, but none for Chanukah. I did not like that people cared more about Christmas than my holiday. However, now that I am older, it does not bother me as much. After all, Chanukah isn’t even a major Jewish holiday! Once I understood that, I began questioning something else: Christmas. What is Christmas all about? What do people do on Christmas? What is it like to pick out a tree and decorate it and make cookies and milk for Santa and open presents the next day? This year, my questions were answered.
Christmas is so tiring! From right to left: Me, Matt (my boyfriend), and Alec (Matt’s brother)
I have helped my friends’ families pick out a tree and decorate it and their house before Christmas, but this year was the first year that I was able to see what happens on Christmas day. I went with my boyfriend’s family to his aunt’s house and once we stepped inside, I was immediately overwhelmed. No other families had arrived yet, and his aunt’s family was still preparing for the day ahead. They were rushing back and forth, wrapping gifts and setting out food. Pretty soon the other families came and greeted us. We then said a prayer over the food. Heather’s Awkward Jewish Moment #1: Of course as I was standing there in the corner of the room during the prayer, I just looked around at everyone for a few minutes and wondered why their heads were down. OH WAIT. That is what Christian people do when they say prayers. Oh yeah. So, I put my head down with them as the prayer was ending. Oops. No one noticed… Right?
I always wondered what people ate on Christmas, besides ham. It is actually a lot like Thanksgiving food, which I got really excited about. I love Thanksgiving! The meal was delicious and once our stomachs were full, we watched some TV together – great family bonding, right? Later it was time to open presents! We all gathered around the tree and handed out the presents that surrounded it. The tree was beautiful – I noticed that the top part of the tree was decorated entirely with ballerina ornaments. I later found out that my boyfriend’s cousin dances, so it became a tradition to get her a different ballerina ornament each year. As the presents were passed around, the pile in front of me continued to grow bigger and bigger. No one told me I would be getting so many presents! I guess my boyfriend’s relatives wanted me to feel less awkward, so they got me presents too. I ended up getting more than anyone else, which did make me feel a little awkward when it came time to open them in front of everyone… Heather’s Awkward Jewish Moment #2!
We ended the night by snacking on cookies, fudge, and the Oreo truffles that I brought. We also used those scratch-off lottery tickets and I ended up winning five dollars! I still need to cash that now that I think about it… All in all, it was a wonderful day. Christmas is no longer a mystery to this Jew. It was definitely better than movies and Chinese food!
