Meshuggeneh Thanksgivukkah!

There's been a lot of talk about this year's convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, spawning online chatter full with wonderful recipes, decorations and activities. There are Pinterest Boards, websites and Facebook events feverishly discussing how we can best celebrate two holidays at once, with our Turkey

Turkey Menorah created by local PJ Library family, the Fridmans.

menorahs, acorn dreidels, and cranberry applesauce to accompany our latkes. As a creative person myself, I love all these discussions and the excitement I see whenever the rapidly approaching "Thanksgivukkah" is mentioned.

I also am sensitive to the fact that there are some built in downsides for families to this once in a 70,000 year holiday "collision". The question of: "With whom and where do we go for Thanksgiving/Hanukkah?" is never more daunting now that the Thanksgiving weekend also encompasses half of the nights of Hanukkah. 

For many families there are always decisions about where to go for Thanksgiving, especially when family is not local. Here in the greater Palm Beaches, this is true for over 75% of our local young families. Yes, most parents of young families raising Jewish children do not have their own parents living here locally. This may seem odd for a community rich in grandparents, but it is true. For some, this scenario may lead to some difficult decisions and some stress. Where "balancing" the family time by splitting Thanksgiving and Hanukkah visits were the solution in the past, this year it is not an option. Not to mention, our local children's winter break will NOT include a Jewish holiday this year.

So, what to do? CELEBRATE Thanksgivukkah in the best way you can, with whomever you can; it is a once in lifetime experience for everyone to enjoy. CREATE other times and occasions to celebrate with other family members in December. There are four Shabbats in the month, make one (or more) special! USE technology to "virtually" bring others to your Thanksgiving/Hanukkah dinner table or candle lighting.
READ a great Hanukkah story together, there's so many to choose from on the PJ Library website. FIND a local Hanukkah event or program to attend with your children. Thanksgivukkah will be one of those holidays no one will forget, so make it "unforgettable" for you and your family.

Continue to Connect, Learn and Grow in the Greater Palm Beaches, visit www.cjepb.org

Gobble Tov!

Holiday Reality Check

This one statistic always throws me for a loop: “only 20% of our young families raising Jewish children in the Greater Palm Beaches have an older generation living locally”. Hard to believe, but it’s true. Most of them do not have their own mothers or fathers living close by. One would think with the amount of residents over 50 in this community that this statistic would be higher---but it is not.

So, what does this mean? It means that the older generation, the ones who typically are the keepers of the family’s Jewish traditions, recipes and customs are not here to pass them along. Sure, recipes can be emailed and Skype sessions at holiday dinner time can take place, but the reality is-- our local parents are on their own. Or are they?

Instead of this scenario creating a dearth of Jewish life and celebration, quite the opposite seems to be to happening. Many local parents without local family around have reached out to each other, creating their own “new traditions” and forming groups to celebrate together and share customs.

Potluck holiday dinners and fun impromptu gatherings seem to be the solution. There’s challah baking, groups going to services together, Break the Fast meals and lots of “celebrating” happening. It may not be the same without grandma’s chicken soup or your favorite uncle’s stories, but it is happening HERE.

I wonder what their next steps will be.  How will our local families raising young Jewish children continue to connect each other and to their Jewish community? Only time will tell. I only hope they continue to take advantage of ALL this community has to offer, here’s to a great 5774!

Continue to Connect, Learn and Grow in the Greater Palm Beaches, visit www.cjepb.org

Friedman CJE’s calendar of events for Young Families Raising Jewish Children: https://www.cjepb.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184&Itemid=355