Change the channel

To sum up: It was a strange, strange Chanukkah.

For those of you who are sick of my holiday rants, let me just say, I’m blaming this on Penelope. She rants every year and I think I’m not completely off base for wanting to add my own two cents. But I know you’re sick to death of hearing me complain, so just look away, because here it comes.

It began with the Chanukkah countdown.

S and D began counting down right around Thanksgiving. It was very cute – you’d think they won the lottery – because they couldn’t wait to open their presents. Mission accomplished, right? At this point, they were in love with Chanukkah.

And then the lights went up in the neighborhood. And it was the end of the love affair.

All I’ve heard from my Jewish Day School-enrolled kids is why everyone in the world celebrates Christmas and why they can’t have a Chanukkah tree like grandpa…hmmm.

So, I did my best – for the entire holiday – to outdo Christmas. We were neck-in-neck, too. Every night, with each present, Chanukkah scored. Every night, with every Christmas light, Chanukkah lost. Every day, with the Chanukkah channel on XM radio, Chanukkah won. Every night, with every Christmas light, Chanukkah lost. And, I was exhausted by the time we lit the last candle.

I know I can’t compete, but we try so hard to show them how wonderful the Jewish holidays are and why they should be proud to be Jewish, it just hurts when I hear them say they wish they could celebrate Christmas. I never felt left out when I was growing up, so I guess I don’t understand. Next year, I’ll have to up the ante. Or just lock them in their rooms for a month.