‘Tis the Season

The holiday time is supposed to be the best time of the year, right? Why is it that everyone is stressed, bitchy and downright rude? Most people can’t wait for the bottle of champagne to pop to signify the official end of the crazyness and be free for the next 11 months before the cycle starts over again.

I do not celebrate this nutty holiday but I do participate in the nutso things we all do. In America, for the ‘Holidays’ everyone gives and gets gifts and they are pretty much expected. I have mentioned that gifts should be a matter of thought and care. For Hanukah we have changed our ways to match the 98% rest of the country’s ways. We give and receive gifts. The only thing we lack is the tree, the caroling, although we do have some of our own crazy songs, and the lights on the house.

What does bother me is that so many of those who do celebrate Christmas, you know the holiday with the word ‘Christ’, don’t even know why they do some of the things they do. Like: What is the significance of the Christmas tree? Why do you put lights on your house trying to beat out your neighbors attempt to make it seem like daylight? Why do you exchange gifts? Why do you leave out cookies for Santa? And what is the significance of Santa? Funny how I know the answer to most of these questions.

Now suddenly everyone gets their panties in a twitch about the PC thing to do/say for the ‘Holidays’. Yes, I used to be one of those, but I think it was because I was surrounded by a whole state of ignorant idiots that just wanted to burn the Jews. Asking questions like ‘how can you not believe in Jesus?’ and ‘What is a Jew? A bad cold?’. (Laurel, remember those days?) Seriously, there are people out there that have said these things to me. So now everything is supposed to be ‘Happy Holidays’ which is nice to hear when I live in probably the most Jewish populated area in all of the states. But to go as far as calling a Christmas Tree a Holiday Tree? C’mon! It’s a Christmas Tree. I’m not the stupid one going out every year cutting down a perfectly healthy 3 year old tree just to display it in my home for a few weeks and then toss it out on the street as soon as some figment of my imagination brings me presents. I celebrate the festival of lights. I celebrate 8 days of light when there was not supposed to be more than enough for one. I spin dreidels and eat potato latkas. And what do I get on Christmas? Bubkus! I get all the stores closed and nowhere to get a carton of milk. Well, maybe at the 7-11. You want to know what all us Jews do on your holidays? (Sandi, this is for you) We go to the movies and sneak into as many as we can on one ticket until they throw us out and then go eat Chinese food. I have been doing that since I can remember. I do think its great that there are people out there trying to include me. Wonderful, I am part of something for once. But don’t expect me to put lights on my house and kill a perfectly good tree because everyone else does it. You wish me a Happy Holiday, and I will do the same. You wish me a Merry Christmas, I will wish you a Happy Holiday.