. . . and Happy Hanukkah

Each year, during the time many people wish others “Merry Christmas,” a number of well-meaning individuals (bless their hearts) tack on “and Happy Hanukkah.” Being an inter-faith couple, my wife and I hear this a lot.

Yet these are different celebrations. The primary thing they have in common is that they occur at about the same time of the year.

Christmas is one of two High Holy Days in Christianity, second only to Easter. In this sense, it corresponds to Rosh Hashanah, one of two High Holy Days in Judaism, second only to Yom Kippur. Also, Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Advent, which leads into Christmas, marks the beginning of the Church year. So, they correspond in this way, too. Yet my wife hears “Happy Hanukkah” around Christmas time a lot more than “Happy New Year” earlier in the fall.

Yes, there are some common themes shared by Hanukkah and the Christmas season. Since it usually occurs during Advent, our observance of Hanukkah in our home enhances my preparation for Christmas. Yet if the Jewish calendar put some other Jewish holiday, instead of Hanukkah, close to Christmas, I dare say it would be as big as we make Hanukkah to be.

Let me be clear: I am not anti-Hanukkah. It commemorates the rededication of the Temple after it had been defiled by foreign invaders. The word I transliterate here as “Hanukkah” (Jewish sources seem to prefer “Chanukah”) means “dedication.” That’s a significant event. Meditating on faith, freedom, courage, charity, integrity and knowledge is meaningful.

But Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas. The two are not equivalent. It especially is a shame that some people, who nominally observe one or the other, act as if the two celebrations are in competition. It may be that the “and Happy Hanukkah” phenomenon detracts from the celebration of both Christmas and Hanukkah, while shortchanging Judaism’s two High Holy Days, as well as other lesser holidays and festivals. Further, it can sound a bit patronizing.

What I am advocating here is having reverence for one’s own religious observances and respect for those of others.

I’ve said before, and will likely say again, if you want to balance your “Merry Christmas” for your Jewish acquaintances, notice when Rosh Hashana occurs and wish them “Happy New Year” at that time.

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Side bar on Passover and Easter

Similar to our December experience, in the spring we have Passover and Easter occurring close together. This likely makes some non-Jewish people more aware of Passover and causes some to want to “give equal time” by tacking on “and Happy Passover.” Yet, again, Easter most closely corresponds to Yom Kippur, in that each is the most High Holy Day of the religion in which it is observed.

A difference from Hanukkah-Christmas, however, is the historic connection between Passover and Easter. During what we Christians call Holy Week, Jesus was in Jerusalem for Passover. The Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples, on which the Eucharist was established, was a Passover seder. This gives the Seder, which I have celebrated each year for decades, special meaning for me.

(It’s worth noting also that in the story told in Luke 2:41-52, in which 12-year-old Jesus goes missing from his parents, who find him in the Temple, they are in Jerusalem for Passover. Thus, two Passover vignettes bookend the story of Jesus’s ministry.)

Passover celebrates the escape of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. It is a highly significant story, told extensively in the early books of the Hebrew Bible. The restoration of the Temple, celebrated at Hanukkah, is also highly significant. This story, however, is recounted in the book of Maccabees, which though included in the Catholic Bible, is not part of the Hebrew Bible (nor that of Protestants).

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Lists of Holidays

Hanukkah is but one of many opportunities to offer a Jewish friend acknowledgement of and blessings on a religious observance. Here’s a list of Jewish holidays, major and minor, and the dates on which they occur this year (2025):

Fast of Tevet 10
Sunrise to sunset, Friday, January 10.

15 Shevat
Thursday, February 13.

Purim
Sunset of Thursday, March 13 to nightfall of Friday, March 14.

Passover
Sunset of Saturday, April 12 to nightfall of Sunday, April 20.

Second Passover (Pesach Sheni)
Monday, May 12.

Lag B’Omer
Friday, May 16.

Shavuot
Sunset of Sunday, June 1 to nightfall of Tuesday, June 3.

The Three Weeks
Sunday, July 13, through Sunday, August 3.

The 15th of Av
Saturday, August 9.

Rosh Hashanah
Sunset of Monday, Sept. 22, to nightfall of Wednesday, Sept. 24.

Yom Kippur
Sunset of Wednesday, October 1, to nightfall of Thursday, October 2.

Sukkot
Sunset of Monday, October 6, to nightfall of Monday, October 13.

Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah
Sunset of Monday, October 13, to nightfall of Wednesday, October 15.

Chanukah
Sunset of Sunday, December 14, to nightfall of Monday, December 22.

Fast of Tevet 10
Sunrise to nightfall of Tuesday, December 30.

Christian holidays

Here’s a list of Christian holidays, observances, etc. for 2025. I ‘ve heard of most. I don’t even pretend to celebrate a good number of them and don’t really know anyone who does. Some, obviously, are tied to other holidays — e.g., all those associated with Easter, from Ash Wednesday through Easter Monday.

Jan 06, 2025, Epiphany
Jan 12, 2025, The Baptism of Jesus
Feb 02, 2025, Candlemas
Feb 14, 2025, St. Valentine’s Day
Mar 05, 2025, Ash Wednesday
Mar 17, 2025, St. Patrick’s Day
Mar 19, 2025, St. Joseph’s Day
Apr 13, 2025, Palm Sunday
Apr 17, 2025, Maundy (Holy) Thursday
Apr 18, 2025, Good Friday
Apr 20, 2025, Easter
Apr 21, 2025, Easter Monday
Apr 23, 2025, St. George’s Day
May 29, 2025, Ascension of Jesus
Jun 08, 2025, Pentecost
Jun 15, 2025, Trinity Sunday
Jun 19, 2025, Corpus Christi
Jun 29, 2025, Saints Peter and Paul
Jul 15, 2025, Saint Vladimir
Jul 25, 2025, St. James the Great Day
Aug 01, 2025, Lammas
Aug 15, 2025, The Assumption of Mary
Sep 14, 2025, Holy Cross Day
Sep 29, 2025, Michael and All Angels
Oct 31, 2025, All Hallows Eve
Nov 01, 2025, All Saints’ Day
Nov 02, 2025, All Souls’ Day
Nov 23, 2025, Christ the King
Nov 30, 2025, St. Andrew’s Day
Nov 30, 2025, Advent – first Sunday
Dec 06, 2025, St. Nicholas Day
Dec 13, St. Lucia Day
Dec 24, 2025, Christmas Eve
Dec 25, 2025, Christmas
Dec 28, 2025, Holy Innocents
Dec 31, 2025, Watch Night

Happy New Year

Each year during December, some well-meaning people tack on “and Happy Hanukkah” when they say “Merry Christmas.” It’s as if they feel a need to give equal time to their Jewish acquaintances. We hear this a good bit in our Judeo-Christian family, but I also see it other places, such as social media.

But the way to give equal time is to wish Jewish friends “Happy New Year” now.

Rosh Hashanah — ראש השנה — Jewish New Year — begins at sundown today, Sept. 29, 2019, thus beginning year 5780.

For those of us who are Christian, Rosh Hashanah most closely corresponds to Christmas. The Church Year begins with Advent, which prefaces Christmas. But more significantly, there are two High Holidays in each religion. The Most Holy Day in Judaism is Yom Kippur; in Christianity it is Easter. Rosh Hashanah and Christmas are close seconds in importance.

There are Jewish festivals that occur near the times of Christmas and Easter, but — even though Easter has a historic link to Passover — Christmas and Easter are comparable to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, respectively, rather than Hanukkah and Passover.

Comparing Holy Days with festivals is like comparing apples to oranges. Comparing Holy Days to each other is like grapes to grapes, or ambrosia to ambrosia.

Wearing your “Sunday-best”

On Easter Sunday, the newspaper had a feature story on “Sunday-best” clothes. An on-line search reveals that it is a popular topic. It was especially appropriate on Easter because of the tradition of getting and debuting new “church clothes” on that Sunday. The article discussed this tradition, bringing back memories for me.

Our family tradition included picking out our new clothes some weeks before Easter, then putting them on layaway. For any not familiar with the phenomenon, layaway meant the store set the clothes aside for you until you made enough interest-free payments to equal the total cost. This allowed someone on a tight budget to spread the payments over more than one paycheck. Or for those tight-fisted with money, it eased the pain of parting with the whole sum all at once.

In those days, it was important to dress one’s best for church, and a little more so on Easter. That has changed in many circles, notably in those of my experience. I still see some individuals dressing a little better on Easter. I used to have a green sport coat I wore only on Easter — because I got tired of being asked if I’d won the Master’s every time I wore it on any other Sunday. When I got one of those comments even on Easter — to which I’d said, “No, it’s Easter. New life and all” — I stopped wearing it then, too.

I was a young adult, in a church where people wore anything from jeans to suits or dressy dresses, when I realized that one of the negative things about Sunday morning in the past had been the hassle of getting dressed up. And the discomfort of being dressed up. Now I could throw on whatever in a couple of minutes and not be distracted from the spiritual experience by itchy pants or choking ties.

I rarely wear a tie for any occasion. I do wear a sport coat to church and certain other places in the cooler months. It’s not so bad without a tie, plus I like having all the pockets. I generally wear my “dress jeans” — i.e., they are black — and my “dress sneakers” — also black. (I have always hated shoes. I prefer to be barefooted. So I wear the least uncomfortable possible.)

It’s just a personal choice, but I don’t wear shorts to church. I have no problem, though, with others who do. Similarly, I do not wear sports team clothing to church. Some people do. That’s their prerogative.

When I appeared as a choir member in a Playmakers Repertory Company production of “The Christians” in early 2018, we wore robes, making pants leg + shoes visible to the audience for only the two or three steps between the stage door and choir loft on our entrance and exit. Our costuming instructions were “Wear church clothes. No jeans or sneakers.”

I was amused, since my church clothes include jeans and sneakers.