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!

When you hear the word “feminism,” what do you think? A lot of people see feminism as something negative, because they associate it with all of the extreme feminists out there. But that is not what feminism is. Feminism is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. That’s it. Pretty simple, right? But today, so many people want to distance themselves from the word “feminism” because they only see the negatives, the extremes, the things that do not truly represent what feminism is. A feminist is not a woman who hates men or thinks that women are superior and deserve more than men. A feminist can be a man or a woman. A feminist can be old, young, rich, poor, smart, silly, really anyone who thinks that men and women deserve to be treated equally.

I will admit that I never used to think of myself as a feminist. I have advocated for gay marriage, educated others about human trafficking, and attempted to become as environmentally friendly as I can, but I never really embraced girl power. I feel like it is because I honestly did not completely know what the term represented. This semester has almost been a journey to discover the feminist in me. I first became interested in the subject in my HDFS 230 class this semester – “Diversity and Families.” We discussed feminism and why people do not like being called feminists, and it really puzzled me. The feminist movement has helped so many women and still affects us today. You know that thing called “voting?” Women can do that today because of the feminist movement, because of the feminists who fought for our rights as women back in the day. Feminism is helping- not hindering- but still women refuse to be called feminists.

It is a shame that feminism has received such a bad name. If we are not going to stand up for ourselves, then who will? There are people who still believe that women are inferior to men and that their place is in the home, not the office. The fact that these kinds of sexist ideals still exist today shows that despite our progress, the women’s rights movement still has a long way to go.

Recently UN Women has released an ad campaign that brings such issues to light in a pretty powerful way. They typed phrases into Google such as “women cannot” and “women need to” and used the most popular searches to show how much discrimination there is toward women today. It is so shocking, frustrating, and confusing to see the things that people have searched on Google, the things that people actually think today. I encourage you to take a look at their ad campaign, whether you are a woman or a man.

An image from the UN Women ad campaign

It is possible to achieve equal rights for both men and women as long as we step up and work together. So, let me ask you now, are YOU a feminist?

UN Women ad campaign: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/10/women-should-ads

~Heather Brody

Have you ever heard the term “fair trade?” The UD International Justice Mission (IJM) club explained what fair trade products are at their Fair Trade Friday last week: “If a product is “fair trade certified,” it means that it features fair prices for the farmers, hired workers, artisans, and other producers; the workers on the farms, factories, or plantations that produce the good are subject to fair and safe labor conditions; the producers invest premiums in social development projects like youth scholarship programs; and there are no harmful agrochemicals in the product.”

So, why is this important? Well, you may not know this, but there are slaves all over the world today. Yes, slavery does still exist despite the fact that it is illegal. Modern-day slavery, also known as human trafficking, is when a person is coerced and forced by their trafficker to work in horrible conditions with little or no pay and no freedom. There are many different types of slavery, ranging from forced labor to sex trafficking. And it does not only occur in third world, poverty-stricken countries; there is human trafficking right here in the United States. It can really happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Fair trade certification helps ensure that people who are working to create different products are being treated fairly, not as slaves.

What can we do to stop this from happening? It may seem like there is not much we can do, but that is not true! In my opinion, the most important action to take is education. There are a lot of people who are not aware that slavery still exists and it is our job to spread the word and shine a light on this issue.

“But how can I do that, Heather?” I’m glad you asked my lovely reader! I have something simple that you can do to educate others this Halloween! The Equal Exchange website sells mini fair trade chocolates that you can hand out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. If they ask about the chocolate, you can explain to them the importance of fair trade products! Fair trade chocolate is also delicious, so everybody wins here!

So, I hope you are up to my challenge this Halloween! If you are interested in learning more about human trafficking, educating other students on campus, and attempting to make the University of Delaware serve more fair trade certified products, then join the UD chapter of the IJM! To get involved, like us on Facebook at IJMatUD and follow us on Twitter at @IJMatUD.

If you see any of the following labels on a product, then it is fair trade certified!

~Heather Brody

Blog. Have you ever tried saying that word over and over again until it doesn’t sound like a real word anymore? Blog blog blog blog blog. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been thinking about that word a lot recently. This is my first time writing for a real blog, and while it is really exciting, it can be scary too! What if people don’t like my entries? What if I sound boring or weird? But I decided not to let those thoughts get to me, because writing is my passion, and this is my chance to share that passion with all of you readers out there!

So, let me tell you about myself. My name is Heather and I am a freshman here at UD. I will admit, I was unsure of whether I would like it here or not. I am from Maryland, so most of my close friends ended up going to the University of Maryland. Choosing UD meant that I wouldn’t really know anyone, and that was scary because I am a pretty shy person. However, I have been making so many great friends here and I have had some pretty amazing experiences. I really can’t wait to see what else is in store for me here!

I am also a Human Services major, which is social work, but with a different name! I love helping people, and I know that when I am older I want to be doing something where I am helping people in some way, so Human Services seemed perfect. I am really interested in human rights though, specifically human trafficking. I hope to one day work with an organization or non-profit or maybe even the state department to fight against human trafficking. So, some of my future blogs will most likely talk about human rights issues!

Now that you know a little about me, get ready for some awesome blog posts that are coming your way! I love writing, as I mentioned before, and I am excited to write about my experiences as a freshman at UD. I have always wanted to be a blog writer, and now that I am, I promise not to disappoint!