Rant #2,798: Christmas Wrapping

It is Christmas Eve, and all the moving parts for Christmas Day are in place and ready to go.
 
That is true for most people in this country, but some people do not celebrate Christmas, or at least in the religious sense, they don’t celebrate the holiday.
 
Jews are among those who generally step back from this holiday, and this year in particular, our holiday passed about a month ago, so the separation has left us in a solid position of being on the outside looking in.
 
And that is not to compare Hanukkah and Christmas, because they are two unique, wonderful holidays that have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
 
So today, I figured it would be the best time to rerun, with some editing, a past Rant that will pretty much explain it all to those who want to know a little about Jews and Christmas.
 
Here is Rant #410, from December 22, 2010, and I think that it explains it all:
 
“This is a seemingly age-old question.
 
With much of the country celebrating Christmas, what do those that don't celebrate this holiday do on December 25?
 
Well, I can't speak for Muslims, atheists, or other groups that don't celebrate the holiday, but I can speak for Jewish people, since I am one.
 
Rather than go with the flow, like many Jews do--and what I mean by that is that they actually have the audacity to set up their homes as if they celebrated Christmas, including lighting Hanukkah bushes--many Jews, including myself, take a philosophical approach to the whole thing.
 
We look at it as a day off, and little more.
 
Sure, the rest of the world, or at least our world, celebrates this holiday, and we are bombarded by the media so we don't forget that fact.
 
But for me, it is simply a day off.
 
Sure, this year it is on a Saturday, so I would have the day off anyway, but we get days off surrounding the holiday that we normally wouldn't have off.
 
So we take slight advantage of being off on the holiday, but really, only a slight advantage.
 
You've probably heard the term "Jewish Christmas." I find this truly repugnant, but to illustrate what many Jews do on Christmas, I am using it here. I also posted a photo of a Jewish Christmas ornament. Yes, I find this pretty repugnant too.
 
What Jews do on Christmas while they have a day off is to go to the movies and eat either kosher deli or Chinese food.
 
Yes, that is what we do.
 
The movies have always been open on Christmas for as long as I can remember. So we take our families and see whatever movies are playing.
 
And as for eating, well, the standard used to be that kosher deli and Chinese food were the only things available on Christmas day, but that is changing.
 
Many fast food restaurants now open on Christmas Day. I know that Burger King started this practice a few years ago, and now other such establishments are following suit.
 
Honestly, I have no problem with this. I am sure they are paying their workers (or at least I hope they are paying their workers) double and triple overtime for working this day. And on my end, why should I not have this choice of food if that is what I want (probably not, but I should still have the choice).
 
So now you know what Jews do on Christmas. I am sure many of us go visiting our non-Jewish friends on this day, but it is really funny, most Jews I know go to the movies and eat Chinese food on December 25.
 
This year, Christmas is even more of a holiday for us, because Hanukkah was so early this year, kind of blending into Thanksgiving. Next year, it will be slightly before Christmas, so everyone can all celebrate at once.
 
Sometimes, it is nice being on the outside looking in.”
 
The only thing different between all those years ago and now is that my family won’t be going to the movies—we don’t think there is anything worth seeing and it costs too much anyway--and we won’t be eating Chinese food—because we will most probably be eating it on New Year’s Eve … but my mother can eat Chinese food seven days a week, and she will probably dine on that on Christmas Day.
 
Some fast foods are open, not as many as were open when I wrote that Rant but there are some that feel they can make money on Christmas so they are open, but the choices are few.
 
Otherwise, what I said in the Rant is pretty much the same today, even in a world where the pandemic is limiting our choices even further.
 
So to all who celebrate Christmas, have an absolutely wonderful holiday.
 
For people like myself and my family, it is simply another Saturday, and we will find things to do to occupy our time.
 
I will speak to you again on Monday, so have a great Christmas and great weekend and we will talk again next week.