Dayton, Ohio is Goys' Town USA......
Dec. 11th, 2002 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Well, another Hanukkah has come and gone. And once again, there was no mention of it in the local media. (And if there was a mention of it, I missed it.) No Menorah in the town square lit by a rabbi in a cherry picker, no displays in the department stores (except for one), etc. etc. It's Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, no matter where I go. Feh.
Cincinnati had a menorah in Fountain Square, but there was news coverage, especially because either the U.S. or Ohio Supreme Courts said that the city's ban on religious displays in a public place was unconstitutional. The ban was there so that the Klan couldn't erect their white cross as they have in past years.
Somehow, the holiday season just doesn't seem complete to me without Hanukkah. The festival of lights, the celebration of the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights, and (most importantly) the celebration of religious freedom.
In the area where I grew up -- Amherst/Tonawanda, NY -- there was a rather large Jewish community. (Sidenote: I was born and raised Catholic.) We celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, and our holiday concerts featured songs from both faiths and cultures. My 6th grade teacher taught us how to make potato latkes (with applesauce and powdered sugar). And my 6th grade CCD class took a field trip to Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo. By today's standards, people would be crying "Separation of church and state!" at these lessons, but I found this introdution to Judaism enriching.
But I didn't go without. I have a wooden dreidel at work, which I put out this time of year as a decoration. The friends in Columbus who we stayed with over Thanksgiving celebrate Hanukkah, even though they're pagan like us. Some of Carol's ancestors were Jewish, and honors both them and the religious freedom aspect of the holiday by celebrating the holiday. And another friend, Rick, once again shared his Jewish faith with the rest of us in the USS Bismarck by lighting a menorah at our club's holiday party.
By the way, if you're into gaming, a dreidel works as a great subsitute for a d4 -- a lot better than the tetrahedron-shaped dice.
I personally believe that my life is enriched by learning and living with all the various cultures and faiths of this world. The Divine Energy is contained in each and every one of us, and this enables me to experience a different aspect of that energy.
Cincinnati had a menorah in Fountain Square, but there was news coverage, especially because either the U.S. or Ohio Supreme Courts said that the city's ban on religious displays in a public place was unconstitutional. The ban was there so that the Klan couldn't erect their white cross as they have in past years.
Somehow, the holiday season just doesn't seem complete to me without Hanukkah. The festival of lights, the celebration of the miracle of the oil lasting for eight nights, and (most importantly) the celebration of religious freedom.
In the area where I grew up -- Amherst/Tonawanda, NY -- there was a rather large Jewish community. (Sidenote: I was born and raised Catholic.) We celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah, and our holiday concerts featured songs from both faiths and cultures. My 6th grade teacher taught us how to make potato latkes (with applesauce and powdered sugar). And my 6th grade CCD class took a field trip to Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo. By today's standards, people would be crying "Separation of church and state!" at these lessons, but I found this introdution to Judaism enriching.
But I didn't go without. I have a wooden dreidel at work, which I put out this time of year as a decoration. The friends in Columbus who we stayed with over Thanksgiving celebrate Hanukkah, even though they're pagan like us. Some of Carol's ancestors were Jewish, and honors both them and the religious freedom aspect of the holiday by celebrating the holiday. And another friend, Rick, once again shared his Jewish faith with the rest of us in the USS Bismarck by lighting a menorah at our club's holiday party.
By the way, if you're into gaming, a dreidel works as a great subsitute for a d4 -- a lot better than the tetrahedron-shaped dice.
I personally believe that my life is enriched by learning and living with all the various cultures and faiths of this world. The Divine Energy is contained in each and every one of us, and this enables me to experience a different aspect of that energy.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Buffalo isn't much better
Date: 2002-12-12 09:21 am (UTC)falls between Christmas and New Year's. Wanna bet they get no additional coverage in Buffalo or Dayton?
no subject
Date: 2002-12-14 02:34 pm (UTC)