"Just because anyone with half a brain celebrates Christmas," Paul Rudnick writes in that bastion of traditional Christianity, the New Yorker, that's no reason to alienate your yarmulke-wearing friends. Some tips:
- Calling Jesus "Our Savior" might seem gauche. Just call him "the Jew that got away."
- Gifting for a mixed couple made easy: The Christian wife gets a candle, the Jewish husband "a lovely framed portrait of his parents, rending their clothes and sobbing."
- Take interest in Jewish holiday tradition. Sample question: “Does your family sing ‘Silent Night’ in Hebrew?"
- Sidewalk Santas could upset your Jewish friend, so "say something comforting, like 'Jesus barely knew him.'"
- "On Christmas Eve, why not remind Jewish children to leave out milk and cookies for Mayor Bloomberg?"
- Hanukkah should not be referred to with pejoratives like "their Christmas" or the "Goldberg variation."
For more "helpful" tips, click
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