While Chanukah is always on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, where that falls on the Gregorian calendar can vary greatly.
Not long ago, the first night of Chanukah fell on Thanksgiving. It’s not uncommon for Chanukah to continue into January. This year, Dec. 25 will welcome both Christmas and the first full day of Chanukah. This is a rare occurrence. In some ways, it’s is very convenient. In other ways, it’s bizarre and unnerving.
The most common Jewish question I’m asked is, “When is Chanukah this year?”
However, this year, more so than ever before, non-Jews I’ve encountered don’t have to ask. They may be a little off (it actually begins on the evening of the 24th), but they know Christmas and the first day of Chanukah coincide.
My teens are excited about the holidays overlapping because they can coordinate with their friends. Like me, they too are excited that their non-Jewish friends know when Chanukah is this year. Since the holidays are together, everyone can exchange gifts at the same time.
Dec. 25 can be isolating for those who don’t celebrate Christmas. Everything shuts down. Most of our friends are busy celebrating. There is a positive in having the first day of Chanukah fall on Christmas. We’re not stuck home while everything is closed and everyone else celebrates Christmas. We can celebrate Chanukah with family and friends.
For those who converted or those with Christian relatives (Yes you can be born halachically Jewish and still have Christian relatives), this overlap can be particularly difficult. Many are expected to come for Christmas dinner or Christmas celebrations where Chanukah and Judaism are completely ignored or only acknowledged in passing. Christmas is not our holiday. We don’t want to take anything away from our Christian friends, neighbors, or family; we just don’t want to be a part of it ourselves. You do your thing. We’ll do ours. With the overlap, though, some Jews are expected to attend Christmas parties where the focus is entirely on someone else’s holiday. Honestly, this already happens even when the days don’t coincide, but it’s worse when the two holidays share a day.
Historically, throughout the world, Christmas has been a particularly anti-Semitic time. With the current divisive and hateful climate and the abundance of spray-painted-swastikas, we’re very aware of this. Having a day that commemorates our fight to survive coincide with Christmas can feel worrying.
We spend so much time trying to explain that Chanukah is not the Jewish Christmas. It’s really nothing like Christmas at all. Yet, this year, they fall at the exact same time. It’s particularly difficult to explain that the day and the people who celebrate it are different—with our own valid and unique beliefs, traditions, and people, when the holidays fall together.
As Jews, we struggle to find and reflect our own identity amid the larger (and often very vocal) Christian majority. This struggle is glaringly obvious to us during December (December? Who am I kidding? Giant inflatable Santas and plastic light up nativities make their appearances on the store shelves before Halloween now). Having the beginning of our holiday fall on the same day as Christmas can feel overshadowing in a world where that shadow is already massive.
Great insight! Quick question, what does “halachically” mean?
Hallacha is Jewish law, so hallachically is according to Jewish law.