This Year’s Convergence of Hanukkah and Christmas Has Happened only Three Times in 100 Years
COVER STORY: Our Front Edge Publishing house and our weekly online www.ReadTheSpirit.com magazine celebrate religious and cultural diversity and, after nearly two decades, we have published authors from more than a dozen world faith traditions. We are internationally known for this unique community of writers—so, it’s always a challenge in December to balance the publication of magazine stories about both Christmas and the comparatively minor Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
However, with antisemitism rising dangerously around the world, we know the cultural friction of this annual “December Dilemma” calls for more than just a reminder of civil etiquette in 2024.
Most years, Hanukkah is earlier in December and our columns explain that, no, it’s not “the Jewish Christmas.” And, no, despite images in popular culture like holiday movies and TV specials, most Jewish families do not celebrate both holidays. In fact, Hanukkah is a celebration of religious freedom and it’s one of the most universally observed milestones in Jewish families each year. (Pew Research says 80 percent of Jewish families own a menorah and light at least one menorah each year.)
Most years, Hanukkah “coverage” in our magazine comes well before the heart of Christmas “coverage.” Because the Jewish lunar calendar drifts back and forth in comparison to our secular calendar, this year’s first night of Hanukkah at sundown on Christmas Day is exceedingly rare. In the past 100 years, this convergence has occurred only in 1959, 2005 and now in 2024.
This year, in so many ways, our world is markedly different than it was a year ago—so we will be devoting three weekly issues of our magazine to highlighting important, timely themes in both Christian and Jewish traditions.
Stay tuned, because some of the stories coming your way are wonderfully moving! You may find yourself wanting to quote from our stories, this month, or share the entire columns with friends via social media. We welcome such sharing, by the way, and publish under Creative Commons so that you can easily do so!
If you are moved to help spread our stories, then we’ve done our job as a community of authors dedicated to bringing true “light”—honesty, compassion, clarity and resilience—into our world.
Let’s Start with the Basics from Rusty Rosman
.
.
Then, here’s how a savvy Mom tackled the December Dilemma
AUTHOR and STANDUP COMIC RABBI BOB ALPER shares with us a wonderful story that already is a favorite with readers of his books. This classic true story is called simply, “Mrs. Steinberg’s Christmas Tree.” If you’re a parent or grandparent, you’ll definitely smile at little “Bobby’s” clever Mom!
.
All Christians now are preparing for Christmas
BACK ON NOVEMBER 15 was the start of the 40-day Orthodox Nativity Fast—an ancient tradition in Eastern Orthodox churches as their millions of members prepare for Jesus’s birth in December.
ON DECEMBER 1, “Western Christians”—Catholics, Protestants and Anglicans—began their Advent season, often including the lighting of Advent wreaths.
Whatever your holiday—we’ve got a great book for that!
OUR FRONT EDGE PUBLISHING MARKETING GURU SUSAN STITT is also an expert gift consultant! Anyone who has known Susan over the years, knows she’s got an instinct for perfect pairings of loved ones with just the right present to give for … well, for whatever holiday you’re celebrating at the end of this year. Please enjoy her Front Edge Publishing column this week, packed with lots of options grouped by general themes. Thanks, Susan, for this wonderful one-stop shopping list!
.
.
Roll up your sleeves and visit us at Bluesky
Editor David Crumm and marketing guru Susan Stitt already are a part of the relatively new Bluesky social media app—and so are an ever-growing number of our writers. We look forward to seeing what you can add to this new online hub to make it feel more like a welcoming community. So, please read this Front Edge Publishing column, which explains what we’re doing on Bluesky—and provides easy links for you to come join us.
.
.
Faith & Film
Click on the movie poster to read Ed McNulty’s review of The Man who Invented Christmas.
Ed McNulty’s Favorite Christmas Films
ED McNULTY, for decades, published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film.
Here are some of his recommended Christmas movies that you might have overlooked:
- THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS (2017)—The film captures well what Dickens meant when he wrote, “Christmas is about hope that, in the end, our better natures will prevail.”
- THE HOLDOVERS (2023)—If you missed it a year ago, this 5-star movie is easy to stream this December.
- JOYEUX NOEL (2005)—Ed especially enjoyed this dramatized version of the famous World War I Christmas Truce of 1914.
- LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)—He also was a strong supporter of the now classic, British holiday ensemble.
- ELF (2003)—And, like most of us, he always loved and recommended Elf.
.
Remembering Our Friend’s Prophetic Voice
ED McNULTY (1936-1924) was nationally known as a pioneer in film criticism with his prophetic style of “Faith and Film” reviews. To read more about his life—we know you will enjoy this obituary and remembrance of his remarkable life.
Much like Roger Ebert’s wife Chaz and their friends have continued to maintain his online database of film reviews—ReadTheSpirit.com magazine has decided to maintain Ed’s substantial body of work, including these 100s of his faith-and film reviews. In today’s world of streaming, viewers may choose to enjoy these films anytime. In addition, we will continue to highlight faith-and-film themes that Ed enjoyed.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
