Quote:
|
Originally Posted by jorgelito
Your second point is exactly what I am talking about as well. That is, the commercialization of a religious holiday. It is my contention that said commercialization has created a secularization of that holiday as well. It would not make sense to "commercialize" Hannukah in this sense
|
Well, except that its seasonality DOES result in Hanukkah being commercialized, because it has been turned into "the Jewish Christmas". Look: one of my best friends is doing her annual job right now directing the Hanukkah play at the local Jewish elementary school ("Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins", fyi. I dropped in on a rehearsal last week--it's freaking adorable.) They do a whole Hanukkah show at this school, with each grade doing a song or skit, and a major theatrical production with the 4th and 5th grades. That's out of all proportion to the importance of the holiday in the Jewish calendar. Why? Because it happens to be near Christmas on the calendar, and Christmas is such a big deal for all the goyim, something has to be done to keep all the Jewish kids from being sad. I mean... they observe Rosh Hashana, but they don't put on a stage production for it!
At least, that's my theory. Again, I'm an "honorary Jew" at best.
I remember when I was a kid at a private Episcopal school, we had a couple Jews who went there, and I remember asking one of them about Hanukkah, and did they get presents, and was it like Christmas. I was very nonplussed by how not-a-big-deal it was for him. How sad, I thought! Jews don't have Christmas!
