For some odd reason the end of a holiday always leaves me feeling a little sad. Maybe it’s knowing that I won’t be receiving any more presents, or maybe because ordinary dinners are no longer turned instantly into holiday festivities, or maybe it’s just because life seems a little bit more ordinary. Which is why this year I’m incredibly excited that the end of Hanukkah coincides perfectly with New Year’s.
For as long as I can remember New Year’s has been the one holiday that I’ve always spent at home. I can never rely on myself to keep a New Year’s Resolution or even drag myself to Times Square – an event that for some reason has never appealed to me. Why would anyone want to spend their New Year’s Eve cold, hungry, and surrounded by tourists? But when I celebrate the passing of another year, I can always rely on having my family around me.I’ve always loved that New Year’s is the one holiday that people celebrate differently, but still somehow are always surrounded by those whom they love. Some people go out, some people stay in, but what stays constant is the champagne and the kissing. It’s very important to not forget the kissing.
For many Russian Jews such as myself, New Year’s also inevitably brings the conversation of The Tree. Back in the former Soviet Union, what people now call a “Christmas Tree” was known by Jews and Christians alike as a “New Year’s Tree.” Stripped of all its pious meanings – or pagan if you’re going to be really exact about it– the New Year’s Tree was a staple of the Russian Jewish New Year celebration. That is of course, until immigration happened.When I arrived in New York, the tree came down and suddenly Father Frost wore a red suit and had a penchant for climbing chimneys.I knew some people who adamantly kept to their traditions and decorated a tree every year, while others saw it as a Christian tradition drained of its religiosity by an irreligious government. However, regardless of who I spoke with, the topic of The Tree still touches a nerve.Rather than be annoyed at this quasi-ambiguous tradition, I see it as yet another quirk, another idiosyncrasy of the New York Russian Jewish community.
So whether or not you put up a tree, stay in or go out, I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Year’s Eve and a fantastic New Year. I also want to remind everyone that in the next few weeks New York will see a slew of amazing new events, and I hope to see everyone there!The New York Jewish Film Festival opens on January 14 and runs through January 29th. Limmud, the yearly Jewish networking conference in Upstate New York is the weekend of the 15th and tickets are being sold as we speak. Also don’t miss the Philosopher’s Dinner on January 19th and make sure to catch a preview of Waltz with Bashir – an animated documentary by Ari Folman about his experiences as a soldier in the Lebanon War of 1982.
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