Is anyone else here Jewish and celebrate Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Valentines Day and birthdays are not Christian Holidays. Valentines Day is a hallmark holiday. Christmas should not be celebrated by Jews. Most of us, even non-practicing, have absolutely no interest in Christmas or a tree and our tradition is movies and Chinese food.

St. Valentine’s Day is not a Christian holiday?!

And please don’t tell me how to be a good Jew. We have a Christmas tree and Santa comes to our Jewish children. Get over it. Our Rabbi has as well as my kids Jewish school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

I think we Jews should embrace it. We can still keep our culture and assimilate at the same time.

NP. And how is that working out for us? 75% of Reform Jews intermarry and they and their kids predictably stop keeping any traditions. The only Jewish movement that’s actually growing is Orthodox. Because they refuse to assimilate.

How often descendants of immigrants keep their culture after the 1st generation? My parents are Jewish immigrants and they raised me with a culture as an adult I choose not to care for.

So you're not Jewish. You're not a Jew who celebrates Christmas. You're someone who used to be Jewish, and now follows the majority holiday practices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Valentines Day and birthdays are not Christian Holidays. Valentines Day is a hallmark holiday. Christmas should not be celebrated by Jews. Most of us, even non-practicing, have absolutely no interest in Christmas or a tree and our tradition is movies and Chinese food.

St. Valentine’s Day is not a Christian holiday?!

And please don’t tell me how to be a good Jew. We have a Christmas tree and Santa comes to our Jewish children. Get over it. Our Rabbi has as well as my kids Jewish school.

Are you a messianic Jew? Because I've lived all over the country, including in places where Jews regularly have Christmas trees, and the idea of a tree and Santa at a Jewish school is bonkers. I suppose if its a gesture of inclusion to interfaith families, I could imagine it at some of the more radical progressive minyans, but do any of them even have a school?

[Anonymous]

Why are we having this debate again???

If you’re Jewish (and not interfaith) and want to celebrate Christmas, go for it. It’s a free country and you should do what you want.

But don’t go looking for validation from other Jews!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

I think we Jews should embrace it. We can still keep our culture and assimilate at the same time.

NP. And how is that working out for us? 75% of Reform Jews intermarry and they and their kids predictably stop keeping any traditions. The only Jewish movement that’s actually growing is Orthodox. Because they refuse to assimilate.

How often descendants of immigrants keep their culture after the 1st generation? My parents are Jewish immigrants and they raised me with a culture as an adult I choose not to care for.

So you're not Jewish. You're not a Jew who celebrates Christmas. You're someone who used to be Jewish, and now follows the majority holiday practices.

One still retains their Jewish heritage- that never goes away- your ancestry doesn’t change just because you celebrate Christmas. So they are non practicing Jews who celebrate Christmas in a non religious way. They are Jews but just non practicing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Valentines Day and birthdays are not Christian Holidays. Valentines Day is a hallmark holiday. Christmas should not be celebrated by Jews. Most of us, even non-practicing, have absolutely no interest in Christmas or a tree and our tradition is movies and Chinese food.

St. Valentine’s Day is not a Christian holiday?!

And please don’t tell me how to be a good Jew. We have a Christmas tree and Santa comes to our Jewish children. Get over it. Our Rabbi has as well as my kids Jewish school.

Are you a messianic Jew? Because I've lived all over the country, including in places where Jews regularly have Christmas trees, and the idea of a tree and Santa at a Jewish school is bonkers. I suppose if its a gesture of inclusion to interfaith families, I could imagine it at some of the more radical progressive minyans, but do any of them even have a school?

DP. I took this to mean that her Rabbi and DC’s classmates got over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

I think we Jews should embrace it. We can still keep our culture and assimilate at the same time.

NP. And how is that working out for us? 75% of Reform Jews intermarry and they and their kids predictably stop keeping any traditions. The only Jewish movement that’s actually growing is Orthodox. Because they refuse to assimilate.

How often descendants of immigrants keep their culture after the 1st generation? My parents are Jewish immigrants and they raised me with a culture as an adult I choose not to care for.

So you're not Jewish. You're not a Jew who celebrates Christmas. You're someone who used to be Jewish, and now follows the majority holiday practices.

One still retains their Jewish heritage- that never goes away- your ancestry doesn’t change just because you celebrate Christmas. So they are non practicing Jews who celebrate Christmas in a non religious way. They are Jews but just non practicing.

That's only if you believe Jews are a racial group. You wouldn't say that about any kind of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. that was totally non-practicing, a non-believer, and held as a personal value that he/she should fully assimilate into the majority (Christian) culture in all ways.

I don't know who you are, but you have an agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Valentines Day and birthdays are not Christian Holidays. Valentines Day is a hallmark holiday. Christmas should not be celebrated by Jews. Most of us, even non-practicing, have absolutely no interest in Christmas or a tree and our tradition is movies and Chinese food.

St. Valentine’s Day is not a Christian holiday?!

And please don’t tell me how to be a good Jew. We have a Christmas tree and Santa comes to our Jewish children. Get over it. Our Rabbi has as well as my kids Jewish school.

Are you a messianic Jew? Because I've lived all over the country, including in places where Jews regularly have Christmas trees, and the idea of a tree and Santa at a Jewish school is bonkers. I suppose if its a gesture of inclusion to interfaith families, I could imagine it at some of the more radical progressive minyans, but do any of them even have a school?

DP. I took this to mean that her Rabbi and DC’s classmates got over it.

Well, that at least makes sense!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Yes, banks etc are closed on Christmas because most people in the nation are Christian and, notwithstanding separation of church and state, the calendar is based Christian traditions. To the extent you consider it a "national" holiday, this designation doesn't negate its Christian background (that people can celebrate in more religious or secular ways) and it is certainly understandable that many people from other religious backgrounds, Jewish or otherwise, would not celebrate and would not consider it "their" holiday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family celebrates Christmas, Easter, Hannukah, and Purim, we just remove all the religious aspects

Same here, but I'm not Jewish. I was raised Catholic, but I'm no longer practing Catholicism. However, I celebrate Jewish, Hindu, and Christian holidays. I just love celebrations and having people of different cultures at my home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

Do you and your husband exchange Valentines Day gifts? Do you go to December 31st New Year’s Eve parties or wish others a happy new year on January 1st?

Both of those are Christian holidays.

And yes, Christmas and New Year’s Day are both national holidays (banks, federal offices, post office etc are closed in observance).

Valentines Day and birthdays are not Christian Holidays. Valentines Day is a hallmark holiday. Christmas should not be celebrated by Jews. Most of us, even non-practicing, have absolutely no interest in Christmas or a tree and our tradition is movies and Chinese food.

You need to read up on Saint Valentine. It is very much a Christian holiday. Some Christians still conduct masses and religious ceremonies in his honor. Is it just Jesus who offends you, but other Christians like Saint Valentine are okay? So, all this time Jews like you were celebrating Valentines, but didn't know it is has a Christian origin. Let me tell you that many of the things that you partake in have a Christian origin. So, why throw tantrums over Christmas, but other Christian related things are okay with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

I think we Jews should embrace it. We can still keep our culture and assimilate at the same time.

NP. And how is that working out for us? 75% of Reform Jews intermarry and they and their kids predictably stop keeping any traditions. The only Jewish movement that’s actually growing is Orthodox. Because they refuse to assimilate.

How often descendants of immigrants keep their culture after the 1st generation? My parents are Jewish immigrants and they raised me with a culture as an adult I choose not to care for.

So you're not Jewish. You're not a Jew who celebrates Christmas. You're someone who used to be Jewish, and now follows the majority holiday practices.

One still retains their Jewish heritage- that never goes away- your ancestry doesn’t change just because you celebrate Christmas. So they are non practicing Jews who celebrate Christmas in a non religious way. They are Jews but just non practicing.

That's only if you believe Jews are a racial group. You wouldn't say that about any kind of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. that was totally non-practicing, a non-believer, and held as a personal value that he/she should fully assimilate into the majority (Christian) culture in all ways.

I don't know who you are, but you have an agenda.

No sorry that argument doesn’t work... do you want to try again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family celebrates Christmas, Easter, Hannukah, and Purim, we just remove all the religious aspects

Same here, but I'm not Jewish. I was raised Catholic, but I'm no longer practing Catholicism. However, I celebrate Jewish, Hindu, and Christian holidays. I just love celebrations and having people of different cultures at my home.

If you are removing the religious part, then you aren't actually celebrating the holiday or culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christmas and Valentines Day are secular now, Guys. Enjoy!

Well so are Rosh Hahahah and Yom Kippur --- just join Machar, the Jewish secular synagogue, to see that they are secular!

So if that is part of your heritage or not, you can enjoy! Not that I see why non-Jews every embracing our most important holidays.

But, please don't tell us Jews that because Christmas, which celebrates the birth of a person who other worship as a god, has become secular, Jews should embrace it. It's commendable for Jews to keep their unique culture and not assimilate with the majority Christian culture. I personally admire Jews who show that Christmas is not an "American" holiday any more than Hanukkah is -- American means diverse religions so no religious holiday is an "American" one.

I think we Jews should embrace it. We can still keep our culture and assimilate at the same time.

NP. And how is that working out for us? 75% of Reform Jews intermarry and they and their kids predictably stop keeping any traditions. The only Jewish movement that’s actually growing is Orthodox. Because they refuse to assimilate.

How often descendants of immigrants keep their culture after the 1st generation? My parents are Jewish immigrants and they raised me with a culture as an adult I choose not to care for.

So you're not Jewish. You're not a Jew who celebrates Christmas. You're someone who used to be Jewish, and now follows the majority holiday practices.

One still retains their Jewish heritage- that never goes away- your ancestry doesn’t change just because you celebrate Christmas. So they are non practicing Jews who celebrate Christmas in a non religious way. They are Jews but just non practicing.

That's only if you believe Jews are a racial group. You wouldn't say that about any kind of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. that was totally non-practicing, a non-believer, and held as a personal value that he/she should fully assimilate into the majority (Christian) culture in all ways.

I don't know who you are, but you have an agenda.

No sorry that argument doesn’t work... do you want to try again?

Yup.

PP: JEWS ARE A RACIAL GROUP. Look it up. Ashkenazi and Sephardic are racial groups. When my husband and I did our genetic screenings while I was pregnant, we had to get the Ashkenazi Jew panel, which includes screenings for diseases like Tay Sachs, which is much more common among Ashkenazi Jews. I did the 23 and me thing last year and came up with 50% Ashenazi. My husband came up with 75%. We could never set foot in shul again and that would still never change. We will always be Jewish.

You are simply ignorant.

[Anonymous]

My inlaws (Jewish) celebrate giving presents to our family (both spouses Jewish). I like to say that their religion is actually gift giving. Because they celebrate any holiday which inovles giving gifts.