By David
Posted December 15, 2009
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So, here we are. Chanukah 2009. Our home is covered with toys and decorations, which is ironically one of the many weird effects of the Christmas holiday on us as Jews.

Every American knows that the "holiday" season has virtually nothing to do with a religious experience. Instead, 'tis the season for a commercial bonanza. The sight of Christmas trees being displayed publicly means it's time to shop. And, as Jews, we're presented with certain challenges.

Chanukah and Christmas coincide with one another. All TV channels are crammed with commercials showing shiny, happy children at the foot of a big, ornate Christmas tree happily reaching for their meticulously wrapped presents. The children's cheeks are flushed, and their smiling faces are filled with anticipation. The commercial touts the twelve days of Christmas and the joy of unwrapping a surprise gift on each of those days.

Okay, hang on for just a moment... Twelve days??? Sounds all too similar to the eight days Chanukah, doesn't it?

So, now, we're challenged not only with trying to redirect our children's attention from Christmas to Chanukah, but we're also faced with competing holidays, one of which (not ours) promises joy and presents for eight days. Well, to make a long story short, we've decided to provide presents for our kids for all eight days of Chanukah.

Okay, fine. But where's the menorah?

There are some "major" presents and "not-so-major" presents, but there are enough presents wrapped and placed in a special Chanukah corner of our house to last for the eight days. Boy, talk about the miracle of Chanukah. It's not really about a tiny amount of oil lasting eight days for the Maccabees. By us, it's more that keeping up with Christmas has forced us to invent a new tradition of eight days of gifts for each child.

On a related note, the Great Recession seems to have taken a toll on the holiday of Chanukah. American merchants are generally very politically correct, adding a Chanukah menorah to counterbalance the dominant Christmas trees in their stores and malls. But this year, I can hardly find a menorah. I get the impression that with smaller budgets for marketing, the stores have cut back on the expense of placing menorahs.

I certainly do respect the holiday of Christmas and I'm truly glad for anyone who celebrates it. Why not? On the other hand, I also can't help but feel alienated by having only Christmas decorations at stores and no menorahs. I get the message that the merchants don’t want my business, so I've taken it elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, we were at a large mall in Thousand Oaks, CA. There were no menorahs in sight, just a giant Christmas tree and Santa milling about in a winter wonderland scene. So, we decided to spend several hundred dollars for presents at Amazon.com, not at the Thousand Oaks mall.

I felt like saying to the shop owners, "You don't need my stinkin' Jewish money? No problem guys, I'll have it spent in no time flat by Amazon, quicker than you can say 'Judah Maccabee', Jew know what I mean?"