While I believe we can’t make Hanukkah into Christmas because we don’t have 99% compliance from the American public, we can certainly make Hanukkah a big date on our own social calendar. My sister-in-law throws a big Christmas Eve Party for Jewish Orphans — that is Jews who don’t do Christmas. It has turned into a major event in snowy Minnesota.
The person who made me think of this was Mary, a member of this list. She replied to my inquiry about what interfaith couples do for the holidays with this statement:
My husband Bill is Jewish, and we joke that he married a Christian because he likes all the pageantry of Christmas. We only celebrate Hanukah at home, but we really do it up. We are known in our neighborhood as the Hanukah House because we have a giant homemade menorah on our roof, and every night Bill climbs up the ladder to the roof and plugs in another bulb. The whole house is covered in flashing blue and white lights. And every year on the Saturday of Hanukah, for 25 years, we’ve had a huge latke fry that you can smell for blocks away. A whole array of frying pans are set up in the backyard, like a winter barbeque, where all the guys stand around and fry while the guests party inside the house. I have a Hanukah “charm belt” that I add something onto every year – a potato, a fork, gelt, matches, silly stuff. People bring their menorahs and we line them up and light them – and pass out song sheets to the crowd so that everyone can sing along – prayers and old favorites like the Dreydl song. Jews and non-Jews feel equally at home. People love this party – it’s a beloved tradition in our neighborhood, and it beats any Christmas party I’ve ever been to!
Here’s Mary’s house with the massive roof menorah!
Here’s my favorite invention – Mary’s Hanukkah Charm Belt! See the potato, the menorah and the dreidel? This year Mary is on the lookout for a little plastic jar of applesauce. Let me know if you find one!
Now go get creative!