This is the hardest time of the year to be Jewish — especially here in Northern California.
We have no Jewish neighborhoods. We live on streets adorned with Christmas lights. Trees and decorations surround the workplace.
As the song says, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.”
No wonder so many Jews feel like the odd man out this time of year.
But becoming a December Christian is the wrong way to deal with this situation. Jews have to remember that Christmas is, in fact, a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus.
It’s certainly true that during the last century, many Jews, in an attempt to assimilate, adopted the holiday as their own. The Jews of Tin Pan Alley created many of the most popular Christmas songs, while entrepreneurs jumped on the trend to turn the holiday into a commercial event.
Times have changed, however. Today we are increasingly taking pride in who we are, without the need to borrow the traditions of others. While we should respect the faith of our Christian neighbors, when we become a part of it, we weaken our link to our own faith.
When we attend a Christmas celebration, we need to remember we are guests — honoring the holiday of others without adopting it.
But for those who want to avoid Christmas and have fun with other Jews on or around Dec. 25, there are lots of functions available here.
We’ve included a number of those events in the paper over the last few weeks, and we compiled them into one story on Page 40.
There are at least two Jewish Chinese restaurant-comedy events. There’s a Jewish ice-skating party. A number of synagogues are screening movies. The annual “Latke Ball” is available for young Jews. And the Marin JCC has a “Fiddler on the Roof” sing-along.
We can also turn our attention to mitzvot, helping out in soup kitchens and homeless shelters.
And of course, Shabbat services a couple of days after Christmas are a good place to refuel our own Jewish sparks.