A lot of people associate December as being a crowded time on the calendar for holidays; however, for Indians and Jews — Fall is the season of religious events and gatherings and a packed calendar.
I felt like I was on a “blog hop” sort of experience recently when within 2 days we baked challah for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah); then attended a Navratri party in the afternoon followed by an Oktoberfest party in the evening. A globe trotting feel, less the jet lag and frequent flier miles.
And this weekend, we embark upon celebrating Indian New Year (Diwali) with relatives along with Sukkot, a Jewish festival holiday. But ask my daughters what they’re excited about and the answer is the almighty Halloween.
I totally get it, I really do… from a kid’s perspective. Alas, Hallmark and so many retailers push these holidays and our national economy sadly relies on these for mini boosts. It’s just a whole lot of visual noise to me. So, I ask, how do you emphasize some holidays and de-emphasize others with your children?
As a child, with a mother raised Protestant and a father raised Jewish, I knew the demarcation of Hanukkah and Christmas – Christmas was not at our house; it was always at a cousin’s or at my mom’s parent’s house. Hanukkah was the only winter holiday we celebrated inside my home. We got our presents over the course of 8 days – never the deluge of gifts our cousins received all in one fell swoop on Christmas morning. We got to celebrate both. I got lots of the fun of Christmas PLUS Hanukkah, however my parents imparted through actions and repetition that I clearly had one holiday and my cousins another. It didn’t make me feel bad, it just drew the line in the sand, made things clear for me. Despite all the nice Christmas holidays spent with relatives, I have no desire to put a Christmas tree in my house. It just isn’t my holiday to celebrate. Fair enough. At least no confusion there.
With the winter holidays on the horizon, how do you juggle the secular with the ethnic/religious ones in families in which there’s so much to celebrate?
Oktoberfest
Navratri display
Tags: Diwali, Halloween, Navratri, Oktoberfest, Rosh Hashanah
Me On A Tee's Blog 
October 15, 2011 at 5:20 pm |
Just came across this amazing app on Diwali about lighting the whole World this Diwali on Google Maps from NRIMatters.com and Kotak NRI Banking. http://www.nrimatters.com/diwali
check it out!
November 18, 2011 at 10:43 am |
You will figure it out j ust like you’ve been doing and your girls will know everything they need to know about ALL the different holidays and how they relate to your family. I remember you coming out each morning, telling me what you got for Hanukkah the night before. I always thought it was cool that the holiday was spread over a course of time! Hey, check out my post today, I gave you a little ol’ award!
Kim