To be Happy I do not have to worry about Christmas...Because I married jewish?

[Chickensoupyum]

That's all really

[raisah]

ErrorError turkey/chicken usually marinated in a tandoori sauce with nice pilau rice & lightly seasoned seasonal veg is the wsy to go! Thats xmas lunch in our house with a nice m&s pud all put on a buffet table with an open door policy for all & no formality. It takes the pressure off, you can watch tv if you want, play games or chat. No presents to open & no 'but you haven't been invited so you have to sit in the front room while we eat crap' that you often read on here.

[MiniMonty]

Before I moved out of London I had a lot of Jewish friends and I lived it up at all those festivals (and the Jews have a lot of festivals by the way). They came and partied with me at Christmas and Easter (and any other excuse we could find for a bash and a knees up). Now I live in Birmingham (seems like a small Jewish community up here) but there are loads of Hindus and Sikhs and a few Muslims knocking around and guess what - we all do Christmas and Divali and all the rest. In my son's year two class there are eight nationalities split over 20 kids and who knows how many religions. Its a riot. There's a festival every bloody day if you want to look for them. Bastille day is good fun (one French kid in the class). Celebrate the storming of the prison in 1789 - it's a July thing.
Burns night is a laugh (no Scottish kids or parents but we do it anyway).

Do we really think that Jesus was born to perfectly coincide with the pagan winter festival?
No. Only someone who's never seen a history book believes that.
It's called Christmas these days (and so what) but we've been having a banging party around the end of December for thousands of years. You'll notice the Christians have hi-jacked the spring fertility festival too. They call it Easter (and so what) we get a day or two off work and if it's sunny there's a BBQ next door. Excellent.

The point is to take every chance you can to hang out with your family friends and neighbours while laughing, flirting and being embarrassed that your kids behave the way they sometimes do.

If there is a God, I think he/she/it would be getting down at the party where ever it was and for whatever excuse.

[BadLad]

Christmas is brilliant. Presents, delicious food, the family getting together, presents, games, champers before lunch, exchanging presents, tunelessly singing carols. More power to you if you are happy not to have to bother with it, but I absolutely love it, so I will always see people who don't have a massive Christmas as people who are missing out.

[StupidFlanders]

I am a non-discriminatory celebrator.

As a member of a multi-cultural family there is always a reason to have a party/festival.

Is most excellent.

Agree with Morloth! I think some of these Jewish celebrations are sounding great- wish I knew more about them!

[wannabestressfree]

As a child I had a book 'atlas of the Jewish world' and was determined to become a Jew...... :)

[Pawprint]

Not a fan of Christmas - I don't really know why. You either like it or you don't, really. If I didn't have a child I would not celebrate it.

[sashh]

I'd like to be in a multi cultural family, more stuff to celebrate!

This is why I like teaching the 'equality and diversity' units - always something to celebrate in a minor way - so red envelopes with chocolate coins.

As for Xmas itself - I just ignore it.

[merrymouse]

I thought OP clarified that there would be no conflict about who to spend Christmas with as ILs don't celebrate it, not that there would be no Xmas or Jewish festivals easier.

[coraltoes]

Would it be pleasant if I wrote "so glad I don't have to worry about yom kippur cos I married catholic?"

No didn't think so. Christmas is still a religious festival for many. Respect for other faiths is multi cultural... Worth remembering that.

[perplexedpirate]

I am brilliant at latkes. I have no interest in Christmas.
I am not Jewish.
Life deals you the hand it deals you.

[AKissIsNotAContract]

Great post minimonty :)

[twistyfeet]

Please come round and make my latkes perplexedpirate I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuurve them but standing sweatily by hot fat dripping oil everywhere is not my idea of fun. And everyone eats them hot before I get there. muttercomplainetc

[FuckyNell]

So who's going to explain what Seder is then?

[TigOldBitties]

FairPhyllis Your post made me laugh as taps into a very specific family tradition. Don't know if you read my earlier post, but I'm Jewish, from London, and when I was a child, (and apparently when my parents were children) it was quite traditional for us all to go to China town or Limehouse, depending on the finances and have a chinese on Christmas day.

We used to have a tree and a small stocking each, but my mum and most of the other Jewish mums I knew were absolutely not going to have an extra day of massive cooking, considering it happens so frequently for us anyway so yes we all used to descend on the Chinese restaurants.

Now I cook a proper Christmas dinner, but many of my cousins/extended family do this, and we don't have sausages wrapped in bacon, but we do have spring rolls!

So its not just an American thing!

[ashleysilver]

The seder is a special ceremonial meal that Jews have at Passover. Seder means order in Hebrew and you are supposed to do things in a certain order. You eat special foods, participate in little rituals and tell the biblical story of the Hebrew slaves leaving Egypt.

It's a big family meal with special foods. For many Jews Passover their favourite festival (and we have lots of festivals ) and one of the most widely observed.

[TigOldBitties]

And FuckyNell, Seder is the start of the Passover/Pesach festival, you have a special dinner 'The Seder Table' and you're meant to, as a family do the story of exodus.

Its much quicker for you just to read this or google yourself to death.

[FantasticDay]

Now, my (agnostic) DH and me (Unitarian Christian) and kids (one of each) really look forward to Christmas hosted by Moslem (convert) DBil and Moslem (lifelong) Dsis and their (Moslem) kids. They really push the boat out. Lunch with all the trimmings, games, deccies. It's boss!

[FuckyNell]

Toda

[FairPhyllis]

Tig Ahhhh I feel vindicated now. I wasn't sure if the Chinese/Jewish Christmas might be a specific phenomenon limited to middle-class Jewish New Yorkers/New Jerseyites.

The origins of it were explained to me thus: neither Jewish nor Chinese people are particularly fussed about Christmas on the whole. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants, which nobody else wants to go to on Christmas Day. Nobody Jewish wants to cook for yet another festival. Thus there is a mutually beneficial business opportunity, and as long as you don't order pork rolls you can kid yourself the food is kosher.

[TheSporkforeatingkyriarchy]

That's pretty much the origins Fair, it's spread from what is now California (where the Chinese originally emigrated to and were the main builder of infrastructure in that area) and due to discriminatory laws the two groups were often pushed to live near each other away from the elite. They were also both groups that were early into owning entertainment houses and cinemas (which is why the tradition in many areas of the States is to go to the movies and eat Chinese on the 25th). I did it with friends when I still lived in the States, miss it a bit when I moved over here but we just do tend to do a movie day at our house to ignore the bad TV .

[TigOldBitties]

Well we certainly weren't middle class although as a family we're not particularly devout so that probably had an influence. Really it was the only time we used to go to a restaurant. Maybe if we hadn't lived so close to Chinatown it would have been different but nope the Chinese was definitely popular with our family and friends.

I do remember there always being the no pork no prawns discussion every year which was always fun. Especially considering the way in which my mother attacks M&S prawn sandwiches like they're going out of fashion.

My friends that live in NYC tell me they got to a kosher Chinese so think its much more of a thing over there.

[SamG76]

Coraltoes - I don't think there was any intention to offend. There's a old joke about about a Jewish couple who convert to Christianity. A bit later the husband tells his wife that he thinks they've made a mistake, and they ought to go back to being Jewish. "Are you mad?", she screams, "at least wait until after Passover!"

[TigOldBitties]

Also I meant to say that I think they were really the only restaurants open that weren't doing Christmas dinner as well.

My mother would not have seen been seen dead in a restaurant eating Christmas dinner. I don't know if that was even available back then, was not something that would have been on my radar, but people do go out for their Christmas dinner now. The pubs used to be open but that's where my mum and dad went to escape from us, and we wouldn't have been allowed in anyway I don't think.

[MsFanackerPants]

DP is Jewish, I am not. We do Seder, Rosh Hashanah etc with his family and Christmas and Easter with my family. I make better latkes than he does (and a kugel which is so giid I am now craving it and an amazing honey cake for Rosh hashanah). I did the first night of Hanukkah once but cooked Sephardi food to avoid comparison to aunties and grandmas! It saves the annual debate on which side of the family to visit. Our first baby is due during Hanukkah which I think is lovely and will bring him/her up to acknowledge both sides his/her heritage. We have a hanukkiah and a tree and a tree, a driedl and stockings. We are also both atheists so it is more about good food, family and cultural heritage for us. I like the variety.

[twistyfeet]

you know what I want. Someone to come clean the house of chametz before passover. (and then cook)