Hanukkah begins on Christmas this yr, marking a uncommon coincidence of the Jewish and Christian holidays, which happen based on completely different calendars. The alignment invitations reflection on how two traditions can encourage one another.
The Orthodox Jewish group I grew up in rejected Christmas lights as indicators of undesirable assimilation. We lighted the menorahs in our home windows and doorways for the vacation’s eight nights, maintaining the custom easy and understated. Any extra showy shows would have felt like crossing a line.
Nonetheless, as a toddler, I secretly admired the glowing houses of my neighbors. However these lights weren’t for us — or so I used to be taught.
A long time later, I stand in my cul-de-sac and stare at my neighbors’ dazzling dwelling, with heat, glowing lights wrapped across the timber. They adorn their dwelling for Christmas as a result of it brings them pleasure — and, truthfully, it brings pleasure to everybody who passes by.
Other than menorahs and primary panorama lighting, many of the Jewish houses on the road keep darkish throughout Hanukkah. We preserve them that method out of behavior, custom and a lingering perception that vacation lights are “not Jewish.”
My children don’t observe the inflexible boundaries of my childhood, although. Once we drive by the neighborhood, they’re drawn to the lights like moths to a flame, urgent their faces in opposition to the automobile home windows and mentioning their favourite homes.
“Why don’t we have lights like that?” my 12-year-old, Rosa, asks, her voice filled with surprise and betraying a touch of disappointment.
I don’t have reply. Why don’t we?
Vacation lights have greater than aesthetic advantages, signaling group and social connection. Lights can enhance temper, cut back stress and create heat, particularly in the course of the darkish winter months. Vacation lights are greater than decorations; they’re a way of emotional well-being. These appear to be good causes to rethink our traditions.
Judaism, nevertheless, emphasizes differentiation: Observing dietary legal guidelines, maintaining the Sabbath and different practices make us stand out, reminding us — and others — of our id. Critics declare vacation lights blur the excellence between Jewish and non-Jewish traditions.
Christmas lights descend from the candles as soon as used to brighten Christmas timber, which in flip might have hyperlinks to pre-Christian traditions. Historical civilizations celebrated the winter solstice with evergreens and fires to mark the triumph of sunshine over darkness. Christianity adopted a few of these traditions, and beginning within the late nineteenth century, electrical gentle helped the vacation decorations turn out to be a secular cultural custom in Europe, America and past.
Whereas vacation lights have solely turn out to be much less particularly spiritual, they nonetheless carry robust associations with the Christian celebration of Jesus’ beginning. Preserving Jewish id in a world of cultural mixing takes effort, and a few fear that adopting symbols carefully tied to Christmas undermines that work.
The stress between preserving Jewish distinctiveness and fascinating with the remainder of society isn’t new. Hanukkah itself celebrates an historical Jewish victory over the Seleucid Empire, which sought to impose Hellenistic tradition and compelled assimilation in Judea.
However standing out doesn’t require rejecting each factor of the broader tradition. Mild, in spite of everything, is common. The Jewish custom makes use of gentle as a logo of hope and connection, not least at Hanukkah, usually known as the “Festival of Lights.” The menorah represented everlasting gentle and divine presence within the historical temple, and Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of a single day’s oil lasting eight. The general public lighting of candles shares our story with the world — identified in Hebrew as persumei nisa, publicizing the miracle. Even a small flame banishes nice darkness.
Vacation lights might have spiritual roots, however at this time in addition they carry pleasure to folks of all backgrounds. For Jewish households, embracing vacation lights doesn’t must imply celebrating Christmas. It may be a method of enhancing our personal traditions with a common image of hope and illumination. Utilizing blue and white lights or incorporating Jewish symbols like illuminated dreidels or Stars of David permits households to rejoice their traditions whereas connecting with their neighbors. It’s not about copying Christmas; it’s about marking Hanukkah in a shared language of sunshine.
Jewish custom is already replete with gentle. The third verse of the Torah says, “Let there be light,” emphasizing its centrality to creation. Isaiah calls the Jewish folks “a light unto the nations,” urging us to unfold hope and inspiration. So why restrict ourselves to eight nights of candles? Why not let our lights burn brighter and longer, connecting us to our neighbors and reflecting the great thing about our traditions?
Rising up, we averted vacation lights out of worry of shedding one thing by mixing in an excessive amount of. Now I notice we received’t lose something however darkness. It’s time to alter; it’s time to shine.