growing up in between
My family’s Jewish traditions are a big part of my life, and history, but we also observed a lot of my mom’s traditions and holidays. We would have latkes and play dreidl, and have a Christmas dinner, and decorate the house for both holidays. ⠀
It made the holidays season so special, because there was something to celebrate for most of December - I remember feeling so lucky that I got to have two holidays instead of just one. ⠀
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I grew up with a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, and I’d say my religious upbringing was culturally Jewish, but not very religious at all. Living in the South, I didn’t know any Jewish kids for a long time, and when I did meet a Jewish girl (I was so excited!) she told me I didn’t count because my mom wasn’t Jewish.⠀
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(I couldn't resist adding an olddd photo I took after we lit the menorah at the end! How cute is my family?!) ⠀
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Growing up this way meant I didn’t feel like I really fit in with my community, and I’ve worried the way I do the holidays isn’t authentic. If you see the Christmas tree, you’ll assume I’m Christian, and if I post about lighting the menorah, you’ll probably assume I have more knowledge about the Jewish faith than I actually do. ⠀
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This has made me feel hesitant about sharing these things in the past, but then I realized that I want to be comfortable being who I am - someone who loves traditions, time spent with those I love, and celebrations of all sizes, and there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to do things like that. ⠀
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Anyway, I don’t really have a way to wrap this up, just something that’s been on my mind recently! Wondering if you relate to this at all? ⠀
