Students observe dual religious holidays

By: Tim Chai <tchai@hilite.org>

Lugging dusty boxes of ornaments from the basement, sophomore Jordan Metz carefully laid the various memorabilia in front of a large, barren evergreen tree. In the hallway across the hall, his parents polished their Hanukkah menorah. Like every past December, the Metz family will celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah this month.

“We’ve been celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah since I can remember. It’s a family tradition to do both,” Jordan said.

Metz is among a few students at this school whose religious identities are not clear-cut. While such a background is not common, it is occurring more often. According to a Msnbc.com article, an increasing number of people in the United States come from mixed-religious backgrounds.

According to Metz, his family has both Jewish and Christian roots. In order to keep their Jewish heritage, he said that they celebrate both Jewish and Christian holidays. Metz said he identifies himself as Jewish.

“When my parents married, they believed in different faiths,” Metz said. “I think that celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas is a way to keep both family traditions and heritage.

“I’ve never been pressured to choose one side or another. I chose to be Jewish because I believe in its ideologies more.”

According to the same article on Msnbc.com, the increasing trend of mixed-religious opportunities is caused in part by an increase in marriages between religions.

“We go to Temple sometime and worship during the major Jewish holidays. For Hanukkah, we light a menorah and open presents over the holiday period. For Christmas, we don’t go to mass or anything, but we do decorate the tree and open presents on Christmas morning.”

Metz is not the only student here with such a religious background. Sophomore Allison Stamer said that she is also in Metz’s situation.

“I actually know the Metz family pretty well. We celebrate some of the Jewish holidays together,” Stamer said. According Stamer, she celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah as well.

She said, “My parents are good about letting me choose my religious affiliation. If I wanted to Christian, that’s great. If I want to be Jewish, they support my decision. Whatever I choose, they’ll just support my decisions.”

On the other hand, sophomore Audrey Chambers said she also celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. However, she identifies herself with the Christian faith.

Chambers said, “My mom was Jewish before she married my dad. Basically, when my parents got married, my mom converted to Christianity. We celebrate Hanukkah in part to keep my mom’s side’s Jewish heritage going.”

Chambers said, “We don’t see my maternal relatives that often. I think celebrating Hanukkah is a way to keep in touch with my mom’s side of the family. We light the menorah in addition to decorating the Christmas tree.”

Chambers said, “I think religion is a personal choice. I grew up in a Christian household, and I identify with Christian ideas. But, if I wanted to be Jewish, I’m sure that my parents would whole-heartedly support my decision.”

As for Jordan, he said that he will continue to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah for the years to come.

“When I tell people that I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah, I usually get the response, ‘Wow, you get double the presents.’ And while that may not be entirely true, it is great to open presents over a period of a few weeks.”