Christmas- a Minority Holiday in a Jewish State
Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated in Israel amongst minority communities. In some parts of the country where Christian communities have large populations like Nazareth and Bethlehem there are lavish decorations, festive celebrations and a holiday presence around town, not to mention religious services. However, in most of the country, like in Tel Aviv, December 25th is like any other day.
People do not pay much attention to Christmas, but when it is mentioned, it is usually in a joking manner. Last week I made plans to go out to eat with a friend of mine tonight. I gave her a choice of Sunday, Monday or Tuesday and she chose today. When she went to write it down in her calendar she saw that it said Christmas Day so she joked and said that we were having Christmas dinner.
Every week there is a cultural insert to the weekend paper that tells you what is going on around town in terms of movies, theater, art etc… On the cover of this week’s edition there is a picture of a tow truck lifting a reindeer and sleigh with a tired-looking Santa standing off in the distance yelling “ho, ho, ho” to the police officer writing the guy a parking ticket.
And while Israelis like to party and celebrate the turn of the secular New Year, Jan 1st is also a work day in Israel so I will be in the office on that day as well. But no complaints, there are enough Jewish holidays to keep me happy.
posted by Leora @ 5:04 PM
2 Comments:
why is the mention of "Christmas" a joke in Israel? The mention of Sukkot is not funny in the U.S.?
I guess since Christmas is celebrated in the West in a religious and a secular manner, every December it is just part of popular culture and if you've seen it every December for your entire life, you naturally expect it. Maybe not much different from expecting snow if you grow up in northern areas and get snow every winter. I guess in Israel Christmas is more or less a foreign custom and there is no reason for them to expect to have it at home. Sort of like taking off your shoes in Japan is their custom, you wouldn't expect it in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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