the holidays

As a Jew-Bu/humanist/practicing lover of life/believer in The Force/newly minted member of the Church of the Divine Spark, I don't get into the collective holiday buy-buy-buy insanity that seems to infiltrate every corner of American culture around this time of year.  (and, sadly it seems, earlier and earlier every year...). 

I was raised in a mostly-non practicing Jewish home (until my father had what i think of as a sort of 'born again jew' experience around the time of the yom kippur war in 1973 ... but his efforts to bring more judaism into our home didn't really 'take' with his offspring...).  My mom had been raised in a Christian home and converted to Judaism when she married my father (she wasn't a believer in the christian doctrine, and she thought kids would be better off with one religion in the home) - so the only thing we took in of her history was around the more secular Christmas rituals -- when we were little kids we'd go to my grandparents home around Christmas cause my folks agreed that Mom's parents shouldn't be denied their grand kids around their holidays just because Mom had converted. 

I have great memories of Bing Crosby singing with the Andrew's Sisters on the White Christmas album, the brick looking crepe paper covering that went around the bottom of their tree every year (always put away very carefully for use the following year), the colored lights and tinsel, the glass ornament that looked like a pocketbook, and the little wind-up Santa who rode around and around in circles on a bike, and "Gam's" amazing cookies.  The Christmas experience faded after Mom's father died (i was just about to turn 8) and I never really missed it; it always felt like a 'borrowed' holiday anyway.

My childhood memories of Channukah are less vivid.  Maybe that's because Channukah is not a particularly important holiday in the Jewish faith, and the symbols and the music - which always seem to make a holiday more powerful to me - are fewer.  Maybe it's also because my Dad's parents were both dead by the time I was 7, so the fuss-over-the-kid factor that often escalates holidays was lost.  To me, Channukah was simply about lighting some pretty candles (perhaps that was the beginning of my obsession with them?), eating latkes (mom made damn good latkes for one who was born goy) and giving/getting just a few special presents.  These days I get a little cranky the way that Channuka gets lumped in with Christmas since it really is the most minor of Jewish holidays, but that might be a bit of blahblahblah for another day.

Other than joining in on the parties of friends that go on this time of year and giving gifts to my nieces and nephews for their celebrations, I don't really "do" the holidays.  It never ceases to amaze me when people say: "What do you mean? ...you don't even have a Christmas tree?"  And I wonder what part of Jewish they don't get? 

Even though I don't do "the holidays," every year around this time I get excited because I know I'm going to get to hear David Sedaris read his Santaland Diaries on NPR - a warped and brilliant essay about his experiences as a Macy's Christmas elf.  (scroll down to "the original 1992 segment' on the NPR link and click on 'santaland diaries (1992)' if you don't want to wait to hear it on NPR...)

There's something so brilliant about Sedaris' frustration with his elfing experience that gets close to encapsulating the frustration I often have around this time of year - even though he doesn't really talk about it directly.  (and he says it all with such delicious humor...) 

Yet even with all my apparent crankiness, the hopeful soul in me clings to the peace-on-earth ideal that gets talked about so much this time of year - no matter what the holiday trappings it might be wrapped up in.  So, I'll enjoy David Sedaris and all his warped crankiness, and I'll light some candles and send good vibes for peace for the planet.  (you may say i'm a dreamer, but i'm not the only one...)  (click on photo for link - and then scroll to the bottom and click on 'get mp3 imagine' to hear the song...one can never have too much 'imagine,' i think...)

A happy whatever to you all, dear friends/blog buddies/readers - and to all a happy and peace-full life.

Comments

[Marilyn]

Same to you, my dear. (For some reason it took 2 days for this post to show up in my Bloglines.) I've come to the conclusion the last few years that my new Christmas tradition is to simply not have a tradition...whatever happens, happens. :)