(no subject)
There's always something about this time of year. I guess that's more vague than it needs to be becuase it isn't exactly unidentifiable. There's always Christmas and Hanukkah this time of year, and all my conflicting emotions reguarding it.
Let me make something clear before I start, I do not dislike Christmas. It's fun and festive and usually puts a pleasent vibe in most people. Yes, occasionally I find some of the themes a bit silly, like how in the world Santa became involved, but it isn't like Hanukkah isn't blown out of proportion too. It's probably one of the least important holidays to the Jewish people, but you wouldn't know that from the outside. And I recognise that the birth of the Christian savior makes it a big holiday for them.
That being said, occasionally I can find it all a bit overwhelming. It's one of the few times of the year when I truly feel like a minority. I love and appreciate my heritage and the uniqueness that goes along with it, but it does sometimes result in an outsider feeling. It's usually the smaller things that bother me. I've come to expect that all the commercials and department stores are going to be based around Christmas (even if they say holidays). It's the majority holiday and that's who they focus on. What bothers me is the individual assumptions people make. I hate it when people just assume I celebrate Christmas, or that I'm Christian. I'm not, and a whole hunk of other people aren't either.
For example, in my Fiction Writing class the other day my teacher told us to write a story with Christmas involved. Okay, a bit annoying. I mean, wouldn't be an even bigger challenge if we had to write about a holiday we didn't know about? But I wasn't really mad. One of the girls in the class commented that I was Jewish, so therefore I didn't really celebrate Christmas, making the assignment a little bit exclusive to those that do. Mr.Day says: Yeah, but everyone knows the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning. Excuse me? Did we not just go over the fact that I didn't know that feeling? The assumption that I just understand that feeling is rediculous, and that's on top of an assignment that favors the X-mas celebrating kids. Generally I like the teacher but it really bothered me that he was being so ignorant of other cultures, including mine.
And thank god there is none of that war on Christmas shit this year because I'd smack someone. I wish I'd said something last year and I didn't. It really bothered me, obviously enough that I still have some residual anger a year later. The idea that by saying "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas" is some kind of attack on the holiday is ludicrous. It still includes Christmas, as last time I checked it's a holiday, it just doesn't exclude the other holidays either. And not just Hannuklah; Winter Solstice, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa are all around this time of year too. Some of the people around me were so adamant about it. The holiday is fucking everywhere, and the second it isn't in the limelight (which it still was) they freaked out. Guess how I feel? It really hurt that they didn't try to look at it from a minority point of view. My point of view. If you want to say "Merry Christmas" fine go for it, but don't get mad because someone else doesn't. And if you are saying it be aware that you aren't including me, or any other Jewish, Wiccan, Muslim etc. kid.
I know there are the semantics of the fact that I do actually celebrate Christmas. It's not my holiday though. I don't own it as mine. It's my mom,s and while I certainly don't dislike it, I only celebrate it in support of her.
So yeah there's my lonely Jew on Christmas spiel.
Let me make something clear before I start, I do not dislike Christmas. It's fun and festive and usually puts a pleasent vibe in most people. Yes, occasionally I find some of the themes a bit silly, like how in the world Santa became involved, but it isn't like Hanukkah isn't blown out of proportion too. It's probably one of the least important holidays to the Jewish people, but you wouldn't know that from the outside. And I recognise that the birth of the Christian savior makes it a big holiday for them.
That being said, occasionally I can find it all a bit overwhelming. It's one of the few times of the year when I truly feel like a minority. I love and appreciate my heritage and the uniqueness that goes along with it, but it does sometimes result in an outsider feeling. It's usually the smaller things that bother me. I've come to expect that all the commercials and department stores are going to be based around Christmas (even if they say holidays). It's the majority holiday and that's who they focus on. What bothers me is the individual assumptions people make. I hate it when people just assume I celebrate Christmas, or that I'm Christian. I'm not, and a whole hunk of other people aren't either.
For example, in my Fiction Writing class the other day my teacher told us to write a story with Christmas involved. Okay, a bit annoying. I mean, wouldn't be an even bigger challenge if we had to write about a holiday we didn't know about? But I wasn't really mad. One of the girls in the class commented that I was Jewish, so therefore I didn't really celebrate Christmas, making the assignment a little bit exclusive to those that do. Mr.Day says: Yeah, but everyone knows the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning. Excuse me? Did we not just go over the fact that I didn't know that feeling? The assumption that I just understand that feeling is rediculous, and that's on top of an assignment that favors the X-mas celebrating kids. Generally I like the teacher but it really bothered me that he was being so ignorant of other cultures, including mine.
And thank god there is none of that war on Christmas shit this year because I'd smack someone. I wish I'd said something last year and I didn't. It really bothered me, obviously enough that I still have some residual anger a year later. The idea that by saying "Happy Holidays" as opposed to "Merry Christmas" is some kind of attack on the holiday is ludicrous. It still includes Christmas, as last time I checked it's a holiday, it just doesn't exclude the other holidays either. And not just Hannuklah; Winter Solstice, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa are all around this time of year too. Some of the people around me were so adamant about it. The holiday is fucking everywhere, and the second it isn't in the limelight (which it still was) they freaked out. Guess how I feel? It really hurt that they didn't try to look at it from a minority point of view. My point of view. If you want to say "Merry Christmas" fine go for it, but don't get mad because someone else doesn't. And if you are saying it be aware that you aren't including me, or any other Jewish, Wiccan, Muslim etc. kid.
I know there are the semantics of the fact that I do actually celebrate Christmas. It's not my holiday though. I don't own it as mine. It's my mom,s and while I certainly don't dislike it, I only celebrate it in support of her.
So yeah there's my lonely Jew on Christmas spiel.