By Lauren Gill, CJE Community Connector

Just before Christmas, my daughter, Madeleine, came to me to ask me what can only be described as a barrage of questions on all things Santa.

            “How does Santa get to all the houses in one night?”
            “How does Santa get in since we don’t have a chimney?
            “Does Santa like Gelt? I’m going to leave him some gelt.”

I was flustered. I fielded the questions I could. My basis of knowledge? Christmas movies. The questions just kept coming and my answers more ridiculous by the second. Finally, in frustration, I relented with “I don’t know! Ask your father!” She turned around, marched right out of the room on a mission for answers – answers her Catholic father surely had.

I grew up as a Conservative Jew. My grandparents were Orthodox, and my upbringing centered around the values, cultures, and traditions of the Jewish faith. Until I met my husband, our celebration of Christmas consisted of eating Chinese food and hitting the movie theatre. Rather than trees and wreaths and naughty lists; we lit candles, spun dreidels, sang songs, and fried latkes.

Marrying together my husband’s faith and mine in our first years of marriage was simple, yet certainly not seamless. In the beginning, our parents joked on how perfect it all was not to have to share holidays and take turns at the “in-laws” (for the exception of Thanksgiving). When our daughter was born, more serious discussions took place about how she would be raised and the challenges and joys that would inevitably arise as she came into awareness that she is, indeed, our little “cashew” (Catholic and Jewish).

When Chanukah ends, we haul up the tree from the basement, string the lights, and place the ornaments on the tree. The star that goes on the very top of our tree is a Star of David my daughter made of popsicle sticks and rhinestones while in her 3s class at the JCC. We sing carols, we watch NORAD Santa Tracker, and, in pre-COVID times, visit with family and occasionally escort Daddy to church.            

Sometimes this prompts questions. Often those questions spark conversations. It is possible she does not quite understand everything that’s being explained to her, but we feel by allowing her to express her confusion and by us never declining to answer her questions, we are creating a culture of openness and understanding of her own heritage. In many ways, my daughter is lucky. No, not because she pretty much gets a steady stream of presents for the entire month of December, but because she is a part of two worlds – two religions with thousands of years of history and traditions behind it and family on both sides to love and support her.