HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND SHALOM

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know."

They say there's a war against Christmas. Not in my house! I love Christmas! Bring it on!

"Where the treetops glisten, and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow."

Irving Berlin wrote that. But he was Jewish. His real name was Israel Baline and he grew up in a Russian shetl. So what did he know from Christmas?

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write."

I'm Jewish. Christmas has absolutely no religious significance for me. I don't believe Christ was born in a barn in the dead of winter, nor do most bible scholars. So much of Christmas tradition was invented -- largely by Jewish people, ancient and modern -- to make us happy..

"May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white."

People around me seem happier at Christmas. And that makes me happy, in a quiet, peaceful way. The snow makes me happy. The lights and the music make me happy.

So for whatever makes you happy -- good food, the hope for peace on Earth, or the thought that Christ came to save you from your sins -- Merry Christmas.

"Although it's been said many times, many ways,
Merry Christmas to you."*


*Mel Torme wrote that. He was Jewish too.