Truth be told, I love the spirit of Christmas. I love the idyllic, romanticized notions of family and the good will that surrounds it—chestnuts roasting on an open fire and all. In many ways, Christmas feels much more cozy than Chanukkah to me. Yet deep down, I know that even though Christmas has been packaged so well by the media, it has religious and sacred roots. And while I can honor these traditions, I can not make them my own.
I still feel different during the “winter holidays,” but maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Maybe it’s okay to simply be me. I just wish that I could be me and be acknowledged and celebrated for that too. I’ve never had someone come up to me in public and wish me a happy Chanukkah and I don’t know if that day will ever come. So I still stumble through the “holiday season.” Now I buy red and green cards for my Christian friends, blue and white cards for my Jewish friends, and cards with kids holding hands for friends who don’t fit into the red and green or blue and white categories.
May the holidays that you celebrate be filled with that spirit of good things. And may you feel like a valued member of your community and this community of all of us on Earth.
