I woke up this morning to find a text from Hannah. A TikTok of a current trend. A girl her age lip-synching to, “I know something you don’t. I know something you will never know.”
The caption read, “My Jewish ass when the other kids in class would talk about Santa.”
Behind this girl was an elaborate Hanukkah display with lights, bears, and menorahs.
Right away, I knew the connection. I texted back, “I love this.”
I have raised a strong confident 20-year-old who is proud to be Jewish.
When Hannah was in kindergarten, her teacher contacted me, letting me know that Hannah was telling classmates that Santa is not real.
I often wonder if she then said, “But Hanukkah Harry is real, and he comes to life the first Saturday of Hanukkah to fill stockings with lots of goodies.”
The first Saturday idea was ingenious, don’t you think? Since Hanukkah often falls on a workday, I added this detail to his story to make the real Hanukkah Harry’s life easier.
I am Jewish. My husband is Jewish, and we do not celebrate Christmas. We celebrate Hanukkah, and when my kids were little, Hanukkah was a big deal.
Years ago, before Etsy, a friend gave me the number of a woman who made Christmas stockings. I will never forget how excited she was to make these for me.
I was not going to let that happen.
Before I continue, I want my readers to know that I do understand that Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday.
However, many people may not know that in the 1800s, “rabbis concerned about Jewish children feeling envious of their Christian neighbors realized that Hanukkah could let kids indulge in a joyous occasion around the same time of year.”
So that is what I chose to do.
A Hanukkah Version of Peanut Butter Blossoms. Instead of Kisses, I used chocolate Gelt.
As a mom, I have chosen to celebrate holidays with Charlie and Hannah, a personal choice — my choice.
In my classroom, I avoid holidays altogether.
Over the years, I have had Jehovah’s Witnesses, atheists….and have found that as a teacher, I am never at a loss when it comes to finding topics that include all students.
On my last day before Winter Break, I read aloud the perfect book for this time of year, Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson’s Last Stop on Market Street. It received a Caldecott Honor, a Newbery Medal, and the Coretta Scott King Award. The Coretta Scott King Award goes to books “that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.”
The perfect book to read aloud.
Matt de la Pena did just that.
My second graders and I deeply felt his story, and he inspired us to share our own stories.
There are so many wonderful picture books out there so it was hard for me to understand why, when I was walking through the Media Center a few days before Winter Break, I saw Frosty the Snowman playing for a group of students.
If books cannot be read aloud, there are documentaries and award-winning movies that have themes related to giving and kindness.
Documentaries and movies that include all students.
A few days later, on the Friday before Winter Break, I chose to use a personal day to avoid getting frustrated at the fact that every year, the school where I work plays the 2004 not highly acclaimed Polar Express movie for those teachers who want to show it.
I do not understand this either.
It is not educational and it is definitely not inclusive.
Children want to make connections. They want to see themselves in the books and movies they see at school.
Thank you to Rabbi Sari Laufer, for writing the article: Why Is It Still So Freakin’ Hard to Be a Jewish Kid at Christmas? because it is not just children who want to feel connected. I like to feel connected too.
Thank you to my dear friend Michelle, who I met at Miramar Elementary in the 1990s. For as long as I can remember, she has sent me a beautiful, hand-picked Hanukkah card. It always means so much to me because I know she has to go out of her way to get it. I know that she is sending out Christmas cards to everyone else. This is the front of my card from Hanukkah 2021.
I was just about to submit my story when Hannah came out from an online interview for a summer internship. She was very excited and felt such a connection to the man who interviewed her.
Hannah made a point to tell me that when it was over he said, “Happy Holidays.” She told me that he said he figured she didn’t celebrate Christmas since she was part of the Jewish Greek Council. He told her that he always wants to say Happy Holidays at work but people tell him he is being anti-Christmas.
His effort to connect meant the world to her.
No different than when she was a little girl.
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