With a worldwide rise in antisemitism,
the Hanukkah lights can become community affirmations

COVER STORY—Jewish families know that Hanukkah is a relatively minor festival each year, heightened across the U.S. because of its proximity with Christmas. “It’s not the Jewish Christmas,” Jews tell non-Jewish friends each December. “Hanukkah is a celebration of religious freedom.”

And that’s also why, many of our writers—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—are adding a special message this year: With a horrifying rise in hate crimes—community affirmations of our Jewish neighbors are so important. Since our founding in 2007, our publishing house has been proud to produce books with men and women from many different faith traditions, including two dozen Jewish writers.

Over the past week, 10 of those Jewish writers sent us personal notes about the deep resonance of Hanukkah this year. Please, read this cover story and share it with friends as a way to spread a little peace and hope and awareness of our religious diversity, this week. If you want to take a further step, we have added links to these authors’ books. Consider expressing your own affirmation of our religious diversity by giving a friend or loved one a book by one of these authors—or by enjoying one of their books yourself.

ALSO—FROM OUR HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS columnist Stephanie Fenton, we have this overview of customs surrounding Hannukah, which begins on Thursday, December 7, this year. Stephanie adds to our Hanukkah coverage, especially with links to latke recipes and family activities.

And Even More Holidays & Festivals

A St. Nicholas Update—

AS WE REPORTED EARLIER, this year’s December 6 Feast of St. Nicholas represents a historic milestone for fans of the “St. Nicholas Center”—the vast database of St. Nicholas fun that Michigan-based Carol Myers has been offering to families around the world for many years. This year marks the moving of Carol Myers’ St. Nicholas resources to its permanent home at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Check out our earlier story, describing the big move and a new exhibition on St. Nicholas the seminary will be dedicating on December 17.

THE UPDATE: Many readers asked us, last week, if the seminary will be streaming the dedication events on December 17 so fans of St. Nicholas everywhere can watch this milestone. The answer is: Yes! The seminary staff suggests that anyone interested in streaming the event should visit the VTS homepage that day, where they will find a link.

And—the meaning of “Advent”—

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3 was the official start of the Western Christian Christmas season. As usual, Stephanie Fenton’s column about Advent also includes links to other helpful online resources. Want to create an Advent Wreath or an Advent Calendar yourself? She’s got us covered.

And—Posadas Navidenas—

COMING IN MID-DECEMBER is the Hispanic community-wide tradition of “Las Posadas,” a centuries-old reenactment of Jesus’ family coming to Bethlehem in search of a place to stay.

Buddhists celebrate with lights as well

ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 8, THIS YEAR, Buddhists celebrate light with a holiday known as Bodhi Day (or, in Zen Buddhism, Rohatsu). Stephanie Fenton has that story for us, as well.

WANT TO SEE ALL OF THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS?—It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the web address: InterfaithHolidays.com

Click on this movie poster to read Ed McNulty’s review of Disney’s newest animated film.

Faith & Film

ED McNULTY, for decades, has published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Most of his work is freely published. Ed supports his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with film reviews and discussion guides. This resource is used nationwide by individuals who love the movies and by educators, clergy and small-group leaders.

Here are some of Ed’s most recent free reviews and columns:

WISH—Ed writes, “This new Disney musical fairytale pays reference to traditional classics of the studio but rejects their paternalism by focusing upon a young woman who is not waiting for a prince to come to her rescue.”
SHIFT—“What an incredible combination of sci-fi, faith and romance writer/director Brock Heasley serves up in this utterly engrossing film!“
RUSTIN—Ed writes, “The overlooked civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), often called the architect of the 1963 March on Washington, is finally getting his due, thanks to the new film directed by George C. Wolfe.”
JOAN BAEZ: I AM A NOISE—Ed urges us to see this new film and writes, “Like most of my generation, I loved Joan Baez, her clear soprano voice uniting us as we listened to her at civil rights events or played her records alone in our rooms at night sometimes so drawn in that we sang along.”
ANATOMY OF A FALL—”French director-cowriter Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall is a fascinating courtroom drama that will leave you wondering.”
THE HOLDOVERS—Ed gives 5 stars to this unusual “Christmas movie” about a disgruntled teacher (Paul Giamatti) stuck with students who can’t go home for the holidays.
JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM—Ed writes, “Director/co-writer Adam Anders and writer Peter Barsocchini have served up an interesting Nativity Story by combining the Gospel accounts of Christ’s birth and then adding to them a lot of fanciful material that includes singing and dancing.”
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE—Of this four-part Netflix series, based on the best-selling novel, Ed writes, “I fell under its spell and found it hard to wait for the next episode.”