I don’t remember when Christmas last fell on the first night of Hanukkah! While the holidays have overlapped in past years, I don’t remember this configuration. Does this make it EASIER OR HARDER for you? Please let me know because I don’t want to assume. Email me at dawn@buildingjewishbridges.org
I am betting that some families are happy to blend all that gift-giving together and maybe cut back on expenses. Others find it painful to have “their” holiday lessoned by the competition. Most often it is Hanukkah, a lesser holiday anyway, that fades in the splendor of Christmas, the most massive of holidays.
Here are two suggestions:
*Whatever you have decided to do this year, just accept it. Don’t create more anxiety by focusing on aspects that you don’t like. BUT plan to take a hard look at the issues in January. You’ll have a nice solid year to discuss and negotiate.
*If you and your partner are in a good place about the holidays, take time to consider how all of this is impacting children in your home. Are you raising any of them Jewish? Have you thought about how your chosen celebration is and will impact them?
What are you REALLY feeling? Do you even know?
I read an article by a woman who claimed to be delighted to have her child get double the presents and family love by celebrating both holidays. But she later betrayed her internal struggle by postulating that her three year old child had just chosen Hanukkah over Christmas. Does she think she’s giving her child a subtle double message? No. She can’t read her own emotions.
I spoke to a Jewish father who said he has no problem with Christmas. I told him, that’s wonderful because so many Jews are upset by Christmas and feel anxiety when the Christmas tree goes up in their home. He replied, “Oh, I feel a lot of anxiety and resistance to Christmas.” So… how does that line up with the statement that he has no problem with Christmas?
These kinds of comments are made to me with an honest lack of self awareness. Is it good for you to suppress your gut feelings? Do you really think your children don’t pick up on them? My answer is a very clean NO and YES.
This month may not be a good time to mix up everyone’s emotions, but next month is a good time to start respecting them – including your own. I sincerely ask you to put “deal with family emotions about December” on your calendar for January 6th. Give yourself and your loved ones the gift of being truly seen.
EVENTS
Chanukah Celebration (Berkeley)
Sacred Music Fellowship’s Interfaith Holiday Concert & Jam (Berkeley)
Castro Menorah Lighting (San Francisco)
Wornick Hanukkah Party with Isaac Zones! (Foster City)
Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat) (Berkeley)
Hanukkah Menorah Lighting (San Francisco)
Afikomen Hanukkah Party (Berkeley)
Asian Jewish Chanukah with LUNAR Bay Area (Private location)
Wornick TK/Kindergarten Readiness Info Session (Zoom)
Chanukah Celebration
Join us at the JCC East Bay with our partners Camp Tawonga, Maccabi Sports Camp, Eden Village West, Camp Newman, and many more on a journey around the world. We’ll have crafts, music, games, food, and more.
*Collect passport stamps as you explore a variety of global Chanukah customs and traditions
*Learn how to play Toma Todo – the Mexican six-sided dreidel game
*Create a hanging menorah like those from Morocco
*Decorate yourself with henna tattoos from India
*Sample fried treats from around the world
Plus: candle-making, olive-pressing, and dreidel spinning smoothies
Come celebrate the amazing diversity of the Festival of Lights!
Date: Sunday, December 15
Time: 2-5pm
Place: East Bay JCC, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley
Cost: $24
Sign up here
Sacred Music Fellowship’s Interfaith Holiday Concert & Jam
Join in song with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim music leaders!
Kick off the holiday season singing and playing music together! Join us for an inspiring and participatory evening of music and unity at Sacred Music Fellowship’s Interfaith Holiday Concert & Jam, a unique gathering celebrating the universal language of song. People of all ages and backgrounds are invited to come together in harmony as spiritual leaders from diverse traditions lead us in songs of love, hope, and connection.
Lyrics and chords will be projected throughout the event, ensuring everyone can join in, whether you’re a seasoned singer, musician, or simply a lover of music.
Featuring music leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and secular groups including: Congregation Netivot Shalom, College Avenue Presbyterian Church, Islamic Sufi Mevlevi Order of America, SingJam, Congregation Beth Israel, Epworth United Methodist Church, Sufi Ruhaniat International, Chochmat HaLev, Berkeley Hillel, The Big Effin Sing, and more!
Whether you love to sing, play, or just want to listen, this event is an opportunity to connect deeply with others and explore the healing power of music.
Date: Sunday, December 15
Time: Doors open at 4:30pm, Show at 5:00 – 6:30pm
Place: Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. Berkeley
Cost: $16-25 adults, $10 for students with ID at the door. Kids 12 and under are free!
All are welcome—bring your instruments, your voice, and your open heart!
Register here
Castro Menorah Lighting
Sing, dance, and eat jelly donuts at our annual Castro Menorah Lighting! Since it’s not yet the holiday, instead of bringing your own chanukiah, we will be providing tealights to bring light into the season. No registration required.
Date: Monday, December 16
Time: 6pm
Place: Jane Warner Plaza at Castro, Market & 17th St., San Francisco
Shachar Zahav invites everyone to come out for this community event.
Wornick Hanukkah Party with Isaac Zones!
Get ready for Hanukkah with themed activities and music with Isaac Zones at The Reading Bug!
Date: Thursday, December 19
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: The Reading Bug, 785 Laurel St, San Carlos
Host: Wornick Jewish Day School, 800 Foster City Boulevard Foster City
This event is co-sponsored by PJ Library. Please register here.
Kabbalat Shabbat (Welcoming Shabbat)
Join Chochmat HaLev for Kabbalat Shabbat service, a mystical tradition full of embodied prayer, soulful singing, ecstatic dancing, guided meditation, sharing of ancestral wisdom, and connection in intergenerational community.
Services will be followed by Fiesta Oneg and HeartSpace dance party, featuring Olamim, an organization dedicated to the joining of Latinx Jewish communities and individuals. Join us to commune and rejoice with food, music, and dance from around the globe.
Date: Friday, Dec. 20
Time: 6pm
Place: Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley
Register here
Hanukkah Menorah Lighting
Each night of the holiday, we ceremoniously light the menorah — but we also ignite our very own inner glow as we remember and relive the victory of a small group over a seemingly insurmountable force. We recall the moment, nearly two-thousand years ago, when a small flask of oil exceeded every expectation and lit up the ancient Temple in Jerusalem — not just for one day, but a full eight nights. It goes to show that hope and faith don’t just flicker; they flare on and on.
Inspired by the tradition of placing the hanukkiyah in a window or doorway for all passersby to see, Hanukkah celebrations have evolved into major events for public celebration of Jewish culture.
Hanukkah begins at sunset from December 25 to January 2, 2025
Dates: Dec. 25 to Jan. 2, 2025
Time: Sunset
Place: San Francisco JCC,
Details here
Afikomen Hanukkah Party
You’re invited! Join us on the second night of Hanukkah for music, nosh, prizes & a public menorah lighting w/ Rabbi Chaim.
4:30pm Live Singalong Music with Ben Kramarz and Sing Jam Friends
5:00pm Public Menorah Lighting
Music • Nosh • Prizes
FREE event at Afikomen • All welcome •
Please join us!
Date: Thursday December 26
Time: 4:00pm-5:30pm
Place: Afikomen, 3042 Claremont Ave. Berkeley
Details here
Asian Jewish Chanukah with LUNAR Bay Area
Join us for our annual Asian Jewish Chanukah party, where we’ll sing our favorite Chanukah tunes, nosh on latkes, play games, make crafts, and gather around the warm glow of Chanukah candles with new and old friends.
This event is open to Asian American Jews of all ages, and their +1 guests.
Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025
Time: 5:00 – 8:00pm
Place: Location details are private and will be sent along with your ticket purchase.
Hosted by The Lunar Collective
Sign up here
Wornick TK/Kindergarten Readiness Info Session
Learn how to support your child’s transition to TK and Kindergarten.
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Time: 8-9 pm
Place: Zoom Zoom link will be provided to registered attendees prior to the event. Please register here.
Host: Wornick Jewish Day School, 800 Foster City Boulevard Foster City