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For the first time since 2005 and only the fifth time since 1900, Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah overlap this year.
The unique “Chrismukkah” holiday is complicating life for some interfaith families, but many have embraced the chance to bring Jewish and Christian traditions together in new ways.
Lisa Pontius, a Jewish woman who married a Methodist, told The New York Times that she and her family will open Christmas presents on the morning of Dec. 25 and then go through their typical Hanukkah routines that night. That includes ordering Chinese food and eating it by their menorah.
Similarly, Nico Wasserman, who is Jewish, and his Catholic wife will pair a gift exchange on Christmas morning with a Hanukkah-themed breakfast menu, featuring items like salmon and latkes, per The New York Times.
At the organizational level, the overlap between Christmas and Hanukkah has opened the door to special interfaith events.
For example, Jews and Latino Christians in Houston worked together to throw a combined Hanukkah and Christmas party last week in the city’s Holocaust museum.
“The food on offer was a blend of the two cultures — for example a latke bar featuring guacamole, chili con queso and pico de gallo, as well as applesauce and sour cream. The doughnut-like pastries were sufganiyot — a Hanukkah specialty — and buñuelos, And the mariachi band took a crack at playing the Jewish folk song ‘Hava Nagila,’” The Associated Press reported about the event.
In the New York Times story and others, Jews described feeling worried in the past about Hanukkah getting lost in all the Christmas fun that dominates most American communities beginning in early November.
But this year, many of those same Jews are feeling confident that there’s room for both holidays in Americans’ hearts — even on the same day.
“Previously I thought Hanukkah couldn’t hold a candle to Christmas,” Susie Felber told The New York Times. “Now I see, in the fullness of time, that it’s not a competition. It’s making room in your heart for all good things.”
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Term of the week: Wisconsin v. Yoder
The 1972 Supreme Court ruling in Wisconsin v. Yoder didn’t come up in my recent story on parental rights, but I studied it as part of my research.
The case pitted Amish families against Wisconsin officials and centered on a state law requiring all children to attend public schools until at least age 16. The Amish families said that the law punished them for living according to their religious beliefs and pulling children out of school after eighth grade.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the parents, writing that the parents’ right to practice their religion and raise their children as they saw fit outweighed the state’s interest in keeping the kids in school for two more years.
“The case was decided primarily on free exercise grounds, but the court brought in parental rights claim to strengthen its argument,” Melissa Moschella, a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame, told me.
What I’m reading...
Don’t miss Bobby Ross Jr.’s annual roundup of the best religion journalism of the year. I was honored to see my story about religious athletes at BYU on the list and excited to revisit great stories by my faith beat friends.
Fort Collins, Colorado, experienced a Christmas miracle of sorts last week when a thief returned the baby Jesus figurine they’d taken from a local Nativity scene. “I’m really sorry. I made a dumb mistake in the moment. It won’t happen again,” read a note left with the returned figurine, according to The Associated Press.
About a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, I wrote about states considering laws that would prevent future church closures. Now, one such COVID-era policy in Texas is being used by Indigenous leaders to attempt to block a city-sponsored remodeling project that would disrupt land they view as sacred. The leaders and city officials disagree on whether or not Texas’ law protecting in-person worship services applies to the planned construction, Religion News Service reports.
Odds and ends
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! I hope your holiday food is tasty and your family time is tension-free.