I have a reputation. When I walk into certain rooms, people roll their eyes. At least they used to. For several years, I worked at a secular, non-profit educational institution, but people there didn’t always behave in a completely secular way. At the “holiday” party, the community sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and a…
Whether from a fellow Jew or a non-Jew, I’m pretty sure the most common question asked of a convert to Judaism is: “Don’t you miss Christmas?” So far, my personal answer to the query has been: “No. Not really. Once in a while… maybe.” My more expanded answer leans mostly toward the negative. I emphatically…
Lying on my living room floor in pain, surrounded by the pile of my daughter’s stuffies that broke my fall, I came to two realizations: 1) sofas don’t make good stepladders, and 2) Jews are just not built to hang holiday lights. For the first time in my life, I was decorating my place for…
When Donald Trump swaggered to a Southern podium just before the recent Senate election in Alabama, trying to rally his base behind the right-wing zealot and accused pedophile Roy Moore, the stage was decorated with banners declaring “Merry Christmas.” People in the crowd held up green letters spelling out the salutation. A vast banner with…
Maybe you find yourself quietly humming along to Christmas songs, not wanting to attract attention to yourself out of a sense of embarrassment or guilt. Maybe you find yourself at this time of year overwhelmed or oppressed by the onslaught of overplayed Christmas ditties pretending to be “holiday songs.” Maybe you secretly love Christmas songs…
While anticipating the harmonious a cappella of Christmas Carols at my doorstep, I recall the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” The music of Christmas represents peace, joy and hope and it has become a genre of its very own. But contrary to common thought, Christmas in America was…
As you’re doing that last-minute Hanukkah shopping, the Liberty Counsel, a relatively small Christian Right organization best known for defending Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, has a few ideas for you. For several years the Liberty Counsel has prepared a “Naughty or Nice” list of retailers who celebrate the “holidays” in general (naughty) and those who…
Fundraising emails are a common sight this time of the year, but this latest, landing even in inboxes of Jewish recipients, stands out as a bit unusual. “Wish the First Family a Merry Christmas,” reads the message, pasted over a photo of Donald and Melania Trump in front of what seems to be the national…
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