In the Messianic Movement we tend to ‘pagan-ize’ everything about all of the traditions we have forsaken. We link the gifts given at Christmas to ancient pagan child sacrifices; therefore giving gifts during this season is typically avoided by some Messianics. I never made this connection growing up in a Roman Catholic home. I was taught that the gifts were connected to our gift of the baby Jesus and/or the gifts given by the three wise men. However, as I got older I began to despise the gift-giving part of Christmas. The gifts became more and more the central part of Christmas overshadowing the birth of Jesus. It is common knowledge that the song ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ and Christmas advertisements by Coca-Cola helped to create the image of Santa Claus in the US. Since then, the commercialization of Christmas (i.e, gift-giving) took off. The biggest money making season for the US retail market begins on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and ends on Christmas. Christmas is now a huge money making machine and a bona fide American tradition.
Just because pagans practice gift giving doesn’t make gift-giving pagan. Pagans do a lot of things that believers do. They light candles, they sing, they dance, they offer sacrifices and they hold communal meals. The practice of these things is not bad, but who, what, when, where, why, and how they are done is the important part.
Keep in mind that Chanukah is not a commanded festival (Leviticus 23). Did Yeshua recognize it? Yes (John 10:22), and He took advantage of it’s significance; but Chanukah is more like a ‘civil’ celebration than a Moed (Appointed Time) of Hashem. Therefore, the celebration of it is all tradition. Who makes the traditions? We do. In case you haven’t noticed, borrowing from surrounding cultures is a very Jewish thing. Think about it; Klezmer music, the Yiddish language, gefilte fish, lox and bagels, dreidels, latkes, homentashn, kreplach, kugel – all of these are considered to be Jewish customs and traditions, however they were all influenced by the Eastern European culture that surrounded the Ashkenazi Jews.
I’ve heard that there was a Jewish tradition to give roaming Torah Teachers gelt at the end of the year, around wintertime. This tradition evolved into giving the gelt to children, which has now evolved into giving gifts during Chanukah. Is this true? I’m not sure, but I have also heard that gift giving during Chanukah is an American Jewish tradition and not done so much in Israel.
So, when American Jews give gifts during Chanukah, are they borrowing from American culture or are they offering ancient pagan child sacrifices to Hashem? All the Jewish folks that I’ve talked to admit that gift giving during Chanukah is only a concession because of Christmas. It is an attempt to make Chanukah more appealing in order keep their children connected to the Jewish faith while living in a materialistic culture. Is that really a bad thing? I wouldn’t recommend going into debt to give gifts to your children, but spending a couple of dollars might be worth it.
If giving gifts during this ‘civil’ holiday bugs you, the next ‘civil’ holiday, Purim, is another opportunity for you to give gifts. In fact, Esther and Mordechai actually recommended that during Purim, everyone should give “gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.” (Esther 9:19, 22)
Look at it all with a ‘grain of discernment’ and during Chanukah, give gifts as you feel led. My only caveat is to be careful not to make the gifts the central theme of your celebrations.
Related Articles:
Hanukkah, American Style, (MyJewishLearning.com)
Re-inventing Chanukah in America (Washington Post, by David Saperstein, December 24, 2011)
Related Articles:
Hanukkah, American Style, (MyJewishLearning.com)
Re-inventing Chanukah in America (Washington Post, by David Saperstein, December 24, 2011)
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3 comments:
Because of some feedback I received on facebook, I think I need to make some clarification:
No, I do not believe that Jesus was born on Christmas Day.
Yes, I know that the Text does not say specifically say three wise.
I was speaking from my perspective as a Catholic schoolboy.
Please let me know if I need to make more clarification. I know this is a touchy subject in most Messianic circles.
Thanksgiving is also a great time to give presents!
Thank you for making the point that cultural traditions do not equal paganism. I feel like a lot of Messianic overreact to cultural norms of Christmas and it really divides families. Besides the Christmas tree, I don't see much that is spiritually dangerous about Christmas.
Thanks Erin.
I mentioned something similar in a couple of previous posts (here and here) where folks were up in arms about Thanksgiving and the 4th of July. They said the were holidays with pagan origins. Huh-boy...
I just realized, this year, that Jewish people are only borrowing from the American materialistic, consumerism, whatever-you-want-to-call-it culture. They are not bringing in the 'pagan' symbols of the Yuletide of yore. However, I do believe that too many gifts can take away from the main theme of Chanukah which, in my opinion, is a stance against 'religious assimilation'. So, if we do 'the gift thing,' we need to make sure that we, as parents, help our children understand the real significance of this minor holiday (not holy day).
I'm afraid that some of my friends, acquaintances and colleagues might think, because of my blog post, that I may be 'loosening' my hold on the Torah. But, Chanukah is not a Moed. I have a stance on the Shabbat and the Moedim that is more strict than most. I find very few reasons to miss a convocation service, weekly or annually, where other folks find a variety of 'secular' reasons or 'fleshy' excuses to be absent. I am not loosening my halakha, I am only expressing my opinion that gift-giving during Chanukah is okay, if you feel led, with the caveat not to make it the central theme of the celebration.
I read a post from a Jewish blogger who said "Chanukkah is our [the Jews] least important holiday. It’s barely worth noticing." Having worked in the advertising business for 15 years, it's clear to me that Chanukah is such a prominent holiday because it has been marketed along with Christmas. It's all about making moolah. Since it's not a Moed, it's fair game. You don't see a big marketing push made over Passover.
Shalom to you.
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