Being Jewish in Indiana is rare, and growing up, most of the time Hanukkah tended to fall during a time that is
separate from the “Christmas break” given in schools. Minorities are growing, especially in America, however, sometimes being part of a minority during Christmas can be seen as a punishment because everything is closed except for the movies and Chinese restaurants. This year Christmas and Hanukkah happen to fall on the same dates, but this is a rare occurrence. Usually the two holidays are separate, and what happens is Hanukkah falls during a busy time in school and is not recognized in schools. We are instead given a break for a holiday of the Christian religion when many in America are not part of this religion.

Hanukkah does not have as deep of a meaning to the religion as other holidays, while Christmas in the Christian religion is one of the most crucial holidays that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Hanukkah celebrates the burning of a lantern by the founding fathers, whose oil was miraculously able to last eight days. However, the culture in America has changed the holiday to be about presents much like Christmas.

But the problem with Christmas in America is that a lot of people who usually don’t have anything to do on the holiday are extremely limited on their choices of activities that day: going to the movies or eating Americanized Chinese food. While the world is not ending because of it, America is supposed to be this melting pot of cultures, and it is almost rude to assume all of the 300 million celebrate Christmas.

Stores such as CVS offer workers time off from work on Christmas because it is such a big holiday in America, However, there are people who may need something from the store but cannot because of this assumption.

The point is not to change anything about the holiday, but to bring awareness to the problem of people who do not celebrate the holiday feeling left out of regular activities because everyone is forced to abide by a culture that not everyone participates in.