This year, the first day of Hanukkah is Christmas Day, making Dec. 25 even more joyful.
Holli Levitsky, founder and director of the Jewish Studies Program at Loyola Marymount University, recalls eight memorable (and sometimes crazy) nights from childhood through motherhood.
1. “I grew up in a brand-new Detroit neighborhood, with no other Jewish kids around. My best friend was a Catholic girl named Leanne. Her wonderful parents treated me like a member of their family.
At Christmas, they hung a stocking with my name on it and I helped put tinsel on their tree. I loved learning about her family traditions.”
2. “As a young mother, I vowed my kids would never eat sugar. But then my sister sent my daughter a case of gelt—the chocolate coins given to kids over Hanukkah. I thought, ‘How do I stop Sofya from eating these? Oh, screw it.’ Sofya wanted to share them with friends at preschool, so we let her pass out coins to everyone in her class. I got into big trouble with the director, who sternly scolded me, ‘We don’t serve our children sweets!’” 3. “When Sofya was 4, we were renting a small place in Seal Beach. One night, Sofya asked to light a menorah candle. I hoisted her on a stool next to me and lit a match for her. She had this long, blonde, angelic hair. As she leaned over the candles, her hair caught on fire. I threw us both on the floor and rolled my pregnant body over her hair—like, ‘stop, drop and roll!’ We still laugh about that story.”
4. “Mark and I always have friends and their kids over for dinner one night during Hanukkah. Sofya viewed our guests as her personal cast. She would write plays about the Hanukkah story, always giving herself the lead role. That was the beginning of her career as a successful playwright and screenwriter.”
5. “I met my friend Carol when we both had sons in a hapkido class. Carol invited us over for Hanukkah dinner. I’ll never forget the feeling of warmth I had walking into her kid-friendly house for the first time. Carol has a son with autism, and she works as a physical therapist -- so she is very thoughtful about everybody’s different needs and vulnerabilities.'
6. “In 2001, I was on a Fulbright scholarship, teaching in Warsaw. Hanukkah felt very lonely that year. It was so cold, and my family was crowded into a tiny apartment that felt dark even with the lights on.
The kids were miserable and didn’t want to be in Poland. Then I brought out some presents I had found that day — a scooter for Jakob and a watercolor set for Sofya.
Suddenly, we were all so happy. We went out and played in the snow and appreciated being with the people we love most at Hanukkah.”
7.'When my kids started noticing that December was all about Christmas, I wondered, ‘What can I take from Christmas that has nothing to do with the religious side?’ So, my family started a Hanukkah white elephant gift exchange, which added lots of laughter to the evening. Eventually, we expanded the idea to inviting a bunch of friends over for a big Hanukkah party featuring a white elephant exchange.'
8. “We don’t want our children to forget rituals associated with Jewish holidays, but we’ve also always respected the traditions of other religions.
When Jake got engaged to Olivia, now his wife, we understood that he would be doing Christmas with her non-Jewish family. But that doesn’t make Jake any less Jewish.”