It’s a busy holiday season this week, with Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa all taking place within days of each other.
Hanukkah began on Wednesday and will end the day after New Year's Day. Rabbi Beth Davidson of Temple Adath Yeshurun in Manchester says it’s wonderful that Christians and Jews can celebrate festivals of light and joy together but she said sometimes people misunderstand Hanukkah.
“The truth is when Hanukkah and Christmas coincide, it can be a little bit complicated,” Davidson said. “Because I think a lot of non-Jews don’t know what Hanukkah is about and they assume it’s a holiday of equal importance as Christmas and people call Hanukkah the ‘Jewish Christmas.’ ”
Hanukkah, Davidson said, might rate more as a 2 or 3 out of 10 in terms of importance to Jews, whereas Christmas is one of Christianity's biggest holidays.
“When so many religious traditions, including Kwanzaa, happen at this time of the year, it's important to celebrate who we are as individuals,” Davidson said. “And that we can all celebrate as Americans each to our own particular holiday, and that's a timeless lesson if you ask me.”
Kwanzaa, an African-American cultural celebration, begins Thursday and ends on New Year’s Day. Yule, a pagan holiday that marks the change of seasons, began on December 21, and ends on New Year's Day as well.
Rabbi Berel Slavatiki of the Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center said he’s been ready for the holiday season to start.
“It's amazing,” Slavatiki said. “It's amazing that there's so many holidays celebrated at the same time. And the goal of Hanukkah is obviously to bring more light into the world.”
The Seacoast Chabad Jewish Center is planning a grand Hanukkah celebration this coming Sunday which will feature a chocolate coin drop with fire trucks. On January 2, there will be a Hanukkah-on-ice event at the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth.
Slavatiki said part of Hanukkah is spreading messages of light. He encouraged people to consider being their own light within their communities this holiday season.
