Santa Claus Is Not Coming to Town

Tonight at CrossFit, a classmate asked if I had plans for Christmas. I had previously told her I wasn't sure if I was going home and when I told her that no, I didn't have plans for Christmas, she invited me to come hang out with her family. I eventually explained that I don't have plans for Christmas because I'm Jewish. She laughed and said the invitation was still good, and I thanked her.

As she was preparing to leave the gym after working out, she came to hug me and said, "If I don't see you before, Merry Christmas... Oh! Not Merry Christmas..." I told her I'm not one of those people who is offended by "Merry Christmas"; why would I be offended when someone is giving me nice wishes?

The thing is, I'm 23 years old now.

Image via http://www.clipartlord.com

Rewind a few years and I'm 5. Having attended a Jewish preschool, kindergarten was perhaps my first exposure to Santa Claus. In afterschool care one day, a classmate announced that his new shoes were from Santa. Like most other five-year-olds, I believed in Santa, but unlike most other five-year-olds, Santa did not come to my house. I was maybe a little jealous but mostly remember feeling baffled that Santa would know what size shoe to bring. I used to go to bed on Christmas Eve praying that Santa would come, but he never did.

My next Santa-related memory was two years later in second grade when we were given an assignment to write a letter to Santa Claus. Now keep in mind that I was still a Jewish kid whom Santa didn't visit, but I was only seven and still unsure about how exactly Santa worked. What was I supposed to say to this magical man who gave presents to all my classmates but never to me? My family was often told that Santa was not a religious symbol; fine, but that didn't change the fact that he came to my classmates' homes and not mine. My mom was volunteering in my class one day when we had computer lab and the teacher had her typing students' dictated letters. When it was my turn, I just came to her and cried.

When dealing with the "December Dilemma", it is so important to realize that children and adults will react differently. As a teenager and now adult, I will do just about anything Christmas-related if it's something my friends or non-Jewish family members invite me to do with them. I'll go to Christmas services at church, bake Christmas cookies, or help decorate a tree. While I don't put a tree or lights in my home, I am happy to celebrate with loved ones. I even dressed up as Santa Claus for Halloween my junior year of college!

Today if I were asked to write a letter to Santa, it would be a goofy activity that I would have lots of fun with. I am secure in my Jewish identity and I know that presents from Santa really come from parents. But as a seven-year-old, writing a letter to Santa was a truly traumatic experience.

From elementary school me to any teacher or caregiver deciding if a holiday project will be fun for all her students, please consider those in your class who do not celebrate Christmas. What is designed to be a lighthearted, innocent activity may be utterly confusing for some students. Christmas is a beautiful holiday and any extra sensitivity is not to take away from that, but rather to protect young children who cannot yet comprehend how to be non-Christian and still enjoy Christmas activities.