When Jewish kids tell Santa what they want for Christmas…
Being Jewish, I have always had a bit of Christmas envy. I love everything there is to love about Christmas….the holiday spirit and cheer, the music, the treats, the lights….I love it all! No matter how much Christmas envy I can express to you all that I have, however, my son has it even a thousand times worse. He is really ticked off at me for not having presents on Christmas morning even though we just celebrated 8 full nights of Hanukkah with presents every single night. Not to mention that his birthday was the week before Hanukkah, and he had presents galore for that, too!
Yesterday, my husband and I had a music gig at the Tucson Children’s Museum for their Winter Wonderland event. It was so much fun, and their events throughout the day were a blast. When Santa came out, my son turned to me to ask if he could wait in line to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him what he wants for Christmas. ”Sure…no problem,” I told him. It was all very sweet especially because my son had never had this experience before. I loved watching the joy in his eyes as he had his moment with Santa.
I thought little of his Santa time until I was putting my son to bed later that night. He began to tell me that he asked Santa to bring him the new “Skylanders” video game system. He explained to Santa that he was Jewish. Santa had the right answer. ”Santa loves all children, little boy.”
Here’s what bothers me though. My son then began to confide in me that he is truly “a nice boy” and is praying that Santa doesn’t put him on the naughty list. Oh dear! What in the world is going to happen when my son wakes up on Christmas morning and finds no presents? Is he going to believe that he is naughty? I feel awful about this!! I tried explaining to my son that Jewish people just don’t celebrate Christmas, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He had spoken to Santa — the big guy, and that was as good as money in the bank. My poor little Jewish kid on Christmas!
So….as my mind scrambled to find a way to convince my son that he is not on a “naughty list,” I was doing my best to find the greatest Christmas song for this blog post today. Instead, I found the most awesome article entitled “The Top 10 Christmas Songs Written by Jews” from the Jewish “Tablet Magazine.” Seriously….who knew? Check out the article by clicking HERE. It’s good to know that so many other Jewish musicians also seem to have a bit of Christmas envy, too!!!
“White Christmas” was written by Irving Berlin….a fellow Jew! I don’t know why this little fact gives me comfort, but it does. Possibly because it makes me feels like I’m not alone. So, click HERE to hear one of the most famous Christmas songs ever written by a fellow Jewish Christmas lover! Perhaps my son can find some comfort in this, as well. Afterall, there’s something to be said for the greatest Jewish Christmas tradition, as well….Chinese food and movie theatres kind of rock, too!