An Eleven Month American

This post is intended as a response to Aya Mimura's recent post about being Atheist in America.  I, like Aya, understand that my struggles do not come close to the obstacles that Malcolm X and other African Americans have faced and currently face here in the US.  This is simply my take on feeling un-American, and in no way do I intend to undermine anyone else's struggles.

If you do not have decorations up in your dorm/apartment/house, step outside.  What do you see?  Christmas.  Everywhere.  Your neighbor's home, storefronts, your best friend's sweater, your Starbuck's cup, your bag of finals week Reese's cups, every radio station, every commercial, is ALL CHRISTMAS.  Which, of course, is fine.  I hope everyone who celebrates has a very merry Christmas, I just wish people didn't (politely) impose that on me.

I'm Jewish.  Even though I'm not very religious, Judaism is a huge part of my life.  I've always observed all of the major holidays, I spent a semester of high school in Israel, I was President of my high school youth group, and I teach religious school at my temple.  You can probably guess by now that I don't celebrate Christmas, which has never bothered me.  Sure, when I was little I was jealous of the cool trees and lights that my friends had, but I reminded myself that I had Channukah, which meant eight nights of presents instead of one measly morning.  The only problem is, Christmas has become an American holiday, and Channukah is seen as the Jewish equivalent, which it has been forced to become.

At least us Jews have Rugrats

Contrary to very-popular belief, Channukah is probably the least significant holiday in the Jewish religion.  Most of us know the story of Judah the Macabee and the oil lasting eight days instead of one, but not many know the real story, which is that Channukah is commemorating a civil war between the Jews.  Yes, we celebrate internal massacre.  Most Americans also don't know that outside of North America, almost nobody gives presents on Channukah.  Sometimes they give chocolates when dreidels are involved, but there are never iPods or Ugg boots.  The only reason that we get presents here is so the Jewish kids don't feel jealous of those who celebrate Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining that I get presents.  I love gifts and I am incredibly lucky that my family has the means to give them to me eight nights in a row, and I would definitely be jealous of my Christmas-celebrating friends if this was not the case.  What I don't like is that Channukah is seen as the Jewish version of Christmas to those who acknowledge it, and those who acknowledge it are the more aware Americans.

From mid-November to December 25th, I can't watch TV without being reminded that I am not a part of one of the biggest American traditions.  Sure, most holiday season commercials don't actually say Christmas, but most involve Santa or a Christmas tree.  From mid-November to December 25th, I can't turn on the radio without hearing the soothing and suave voice of Bing Crosby, and feeling left out of his magic.  From mid-November to December 25th, I can't go shopping, go to work, or even walk down the street without being wished a Merry Christmas.  While this may not seem like a big deal, it is actually what bothers me the most about the holidays.  People assume that I have the same beliefs as them.  I'm sorry that my culture isn't clearly written on my face (although some people would say that my curly red hair and freckles say it all), but that does not mean that you should assume I believe the same things as you.

While I feel American 11 months out of the year, the holidays make me feel entirely un-American.  Even though Christmas is not a national holiday, it seems like it might as well be.  I have to miss school and my parents have to miss work for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but we are all given the day off for Christmas, a day that means virtually nothing to us.  Everything is closed except for Chinese restaurants and movie theaters (you can bet you'll find me watching Les Mis this year- hopefully not a huge step down from last year's The King's Speech).  The entire country revolves around Christmas at the end of the year.  I know that my problem is not a bad one to have; I actually kind of like all of the joy and spirit that comes with the holiday season.  Unlike Malcolm X, I have basic human rights, but I can relate in the fact that my people go unrecognized in one of our country's major traditions.  This is probably not going to change in my lifetime, which is something that I have grown to accept.  I just wish that when I go shopping in your store or when I sell you a cup of coffee, please think about your words, and say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

Pictures and Video from:

http://www.zimbio.com/Christmas/articles/550/45+000+Worth+Christmas+Lights+Look+Like

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&authuser=0&biw=1062&bih=577&tbm=isch&tbnid=nlgoh30AP831EM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rugrats_Chanukah.jpg&docid=lx7rsX3QkC-QUM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/Rugrats_Chanukah.jpg&w=385&h=279&ei=ylC8UPX5FfDlyAGulYDwAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=205&vpy=176&dur=2543&hovh=191&hovw=264&tx=146&ty=124&sig=110577162859244510427&page=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=177&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:88

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWco4kgzgJo

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&authuser=0&biw=1062&bih=577&tbm=isch&tbnid=Cl2wWrfi4pLudM:&imgrefurl=http://www.52en.com/yy/html/20060515_001_speech.asp&docid=Ds03BY9E3SNqrM&imgurl=http://www.52en.com/img/Malcolmx_3.jpg&w=310&h=359&ei=eU-8UPeDAqrRyQGlgIHQCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=395&vpy=99&dur=1157&hovh=242&hovw=210&tx=97&ty=136&sig=110577162859244510427&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=98&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:92

Sources:

http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/chanuka/chanstr.htm

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2005/12/the_maccabees_and_the_hellenists.html