I was raised in a dual faith household. My father was Jewish and my mother was a Christian who converted to Judaism. It made for interesting holidays when both my parents families would get together.
On the up side, my dad loved the trappings of Christmas and so we always had a Christmas tree as well as Chanukah lights. Not only did I get Chanukah gifts but Christmas gifts as well! Pretty sweet for a kid I’ll tell you. The down side was having to explain Chanukah to all my gentile friends and having to explain the Christmas tree to my Jewish ones. IN the end most just looked at the double presents bonus and said how lucky I was.
The other up side was getting a real taste of both religions. As I have grown older Religion is a bigger part of my life than it was as a child. Though I had my Bar Mitzvah and attended our temple on a regular basis, as an adult I ended up converting to Christianity. It’s a long story, but the basics are pretty simple. I found a church that really believes its message and tries to follow Jesus teachings. That means a church whose members actually try to live out their faith. Generous, inclusive and unafraid to do what is right and just. My kind of people!
At this time of year I always like to look back on how I got where I am today. I am proud of my dual faith traditions. It makes me even more informed on the roots of Christianity and I am often asked to share that with my friends.
This Christmas I will be attending the late Christmas Eve service at our church, a United Church of Christ. It will be filled with song and music and pageantry and lots of friends. I will ring in another Christmas with memories of my menorah and Christmas tree and my family who took enough time to explain their faith journey to me. For that I am truly grateful at this special time of year.
Happy holidays and blessings to your all.
"Inaugurate This" Toons
2 days ago
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