Tuesday, December 1984
Pago 4
Santa's Holiday Guide
Christmas commercialis m intrudes on Hannukah
By Mona Z. Koppelman
Dally Nebraakan Senior Editor
Editor's Note: This story orig
inally ran in last year's Daily
Nebraskan holiday supplement.
Five pairs of brown eyes anx
iously watch five plastic tops spin
furiously on a piano bench. Five
small boys guess which side their
top dreidel will land on. The 'win
ners' slap each other on the back.
"Dreidels are OK, but I can
hardly wait till next Hannukah,"
one boy said. "I'm going to get a
Snow Speeder."
Hannukah is a Jewish holiday
which bears little resemblance to
Christmas, but the difference be
tween the two is often misunder
stood. The issue is fu rt her clouded
by what some Jews view as the
encroachment of Chlrstmas com
mercialism on Hannukah.
Hannukah comemmorates the
successful Jewish revolt against
the Seleucid Greeks and their
king Antiochus in 165 D.C.
"Antiochus tried to Hellenize
the Jews," said Rabbi Kenneth
White of the South Street Temple,
20th and South Streets. "People
who studied Torah or women
who circumcised their children
were put to death. The Temple in
Jerusalem was defiled."
Mattathias, an elderly priest,
opposed this tyranny.
He and his five sons, the Mac
cabees, organized a rebellion
which eventually swept the op
pressors from the area. The
Temple was recaptured by the
Jew3, purified and rededicated.
Hannukah means 'dedication."
The legend goes that Jews went
looking for pure olive oil to light
the Temple lamps," White said.
"They found one vial with only
enough oil for one day. But the oil
burned eight days, and the mira
cle of the lights became part of
Hannukah tradition."
Jews continue to kindle lights
for eight days in December. Other
traditions include dreidels, spe
cial songs, prayers, foods and
presents given out each night.
"The idea of presents started
out in a minor way," White said.
"Then, as Christmas became a
major holiday, presents started
playing a bigger part."
White said people tend to equate
Christmas and Hannukah because
gift-giving is involved in both, but
he emphasized that the similarity
ends there.
"Christmas celebrates the birth
of God, or part of God," he said.
"Hannukah celebrates the first
rebellion of religious freedom in
recorded history."
Hannukah is widely regarded
as one of the more minor holi
days in the Jewish year. White
said it has seen a "major" emer
gence come about in proportion
to Christmas."
"There is really no philosophi
cal reason to make it (Hannukah)
a major Holiday, wnite said. "Jews
don't normally celebrate military
victories. That's why we focus
more on the miracle of the lights."
Harry Allen, UNL director of
instructional research and plan
ning, said he thinks there-is more
emphasis on Hannukah among
families with children.
"I think parents want to make
Jewish kids feel, they have some
thing" said Allen, a member of
the Tifereth Israel Synagogue,
3219 Sheridan. "It started in the
late 1950s and 1960s, with mass
media commercialization."
Sheldon Schuster, UNL asso
ciate chemistry professor, said he
thinks Hannukah tries to com
pete with Christmas.
Continued on Page 5
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ission makes holiday cheer
By Lisa Nutting
Dally Nebraskan Staff Reporter
Joyce has 5 children, all young
er than 12. She is not mar
ried, nor does she have a job.
Aid to Dependent Children pay
ments are her only income.
Last Christmas, Joyce's family
and 1,475 people were able to
give and receive gifts through the
Christmas Care Project of Lin
coln's People's City Mission, 1 24 S.
Ninth Street.
The care project allows the
poor and needy to enjoy gift
giving during the holidays with
out having to pay for the pres
ents. They select presents from
gifts which are donated to the
mission, and give them to their
immediate families.
Also, food baskets are given to
the needy at holiday time. During
Thanksgiving, 136 baskets were
given the mission anticipates
just as many, or more, to be given
out over the holidays. And for
those staying at the mission, "ditty
bags" and knitted scarfs are
presents given Dec. 25.
Joyce and her family were not
living at the mission last De
cember, but they wre very much
involved with the care project.
"My ADC is what it tolces
to pay the rent and bills," Joyce
said. "We definitely wouldn't have
had a Christmas otherwise (with
out the care project)."
And last year Joyce and her
family were given a Christmas
tree, "with tinsel and alL" A Christ
mas tree is a rare decoration
around her home, she said.
This year Joyce plans to apply
again for toys for her children.
And to show her appreciation,
she is a volunteer at the mission,
and helps put together the food
baskets.
"The mission is very special to
me," Joyce said. "You can tell they
really care."
Donny Ritter and Dave Fratta
lone have stayed at the mission
on and off for more than a year
now. Each has his own reasons
for living there. Donny had been
living in a group home and went
to the mission when he was re
leased. Dave was a transient and is
now staying at the mission, "until
I'm rea dy to go to school," he said.
Dave hopes to attend a technical
college and train to become a
missionary's assistant. Both men
work at the mission and are in
the long-term restoration and
renewal program.
Donny recalled last year he
was able to visit his family in Lex
ington for the holidays with the
help of the mission. The mission
helped him buy a bus ticket. Since
last year, Donny said, the mission
has changed his whole life.
Ccr.iir.sed on Pag 9
113 iho
1
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