In the United States, almost 74 percent of people are Christians, while only around two percent are Jewish. When we look around us during December and even November, we can be overwhelmed by Christmas, but we don’t see other holidays represented during the holidays. With the decorations and music, it seems to go on forever. Here’s a look into what it’s like for people who celebrate Hanukkah during the holiday season.
For Hanukkah, a menorah candle is lit once each night, for eight nights and a present is received each night. You say prayers and play a game with a dreidel, which is like a spinning top.
One Central senior, Ryan Fahs, celebrates Hanukkah. His favorite part of the holiday season is when he goes to visit his grandparents in Florida, where they vacation every year. Hanukkah sometimes falls before Christmas, so he doesn’t get to celebrate the eight days with his grandparents. One special thing Fahs’s family does is have a tree with ornaments, his family also uses a dreidel with Disney characters on it.
“It’s kind of a forgotten holiday,” Fahs said.
Since the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, it’s hard to see representation for the other holidays. His family has to buy all of their decorations on Amazon since the stores don’t offer a variety of decor for Hanukkah.
Senior Raya Levine, celebrates Hanukkah as well. Each year, her family picks one of their many decorative menorahs to put up. She likes to visit her family in New Jersey where she spends some of her holiday. Her mom’s side of the family celebrates Christmas at her grandma’s house, where her family visits on Christmas Eve. Levine’s family tries to incorporate Hanukkah into their celebration to include Levine. Her stocking at her grandma’s house is shaped like a dreidel.
Like Fahs, Levine said she has trouble finding her holiday decorations. Her family buys all of their decorations in Baltimore, where she sees more representation for Hanukkah.
“When you go into stores [around here] it looks like there's a big section, but when you actually go up it looks like it has been picked through. It is weird because there aren’t many Jewish people around here. I do wish people would realize there is a different holiday going on,” she said.
Levine continues a tradition of her own each year by throwing a Hanukkah party to include her friends during the holiday. She noticed that they didn’t know a lot about Hanukkah, so she has a party where she makes latkes and matzo ball soup.
During December, most of the students at Central will be focused on Christmas, but with our school being so diverse, just remember there is another holiday to include in our festivities.