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In New Orleans, Hanukkah means decorating your door with a menorah made of hominy grits. Latkes in Texas are seasoned with cilantro and cayenne pepper. Children in Cincinnati sing Hanukkah songs and eat oranges and ice cream. While each tradition springs from its own unique set of cultural references, what ties them together is that they all celebrate a holiday that is different in America than it is any place else. For the past two hundred years, American Jews have been transforming the ancient holiday of Hanukkah from a simple occasion into something grand. Each year, as they retell its story and enact its customs, they bring their ever-changing perspectives and desires to its celebration. Providing an attractive alternative to the Christian dominated December, rabbis and lay people alike have addressed contemporary hopes by fashioning an authentically Jewish festival that blossomed in their American world.The ways in which Hanukkah was reshaped by American Jews reveals the changing goals and values that emerged among different contingents each December as they confronted the reality of living as a religious minority in the United States. Bringing together clergy and laity, artists and businessmen, teachers, parents, and children, Hanukkah has been a dynamic force for both stability and change in American Jewish life. The holiday’s distinctive transformation from a minor festival to a major occasion that looms large in the American Jewish psyche is a marker of American Jewish life. Drawing on a varied archive of songs, plays, liturgy, sermons, and a range of illustrative material, as well as developing portraits of various communities, congregations, and rabbis, Hanukkah in America reveals how an almost forgotten festival became the most visible of American Jewish holidays.New Books Network interviews Dianne Ashton… (more)
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Ashton’s book covers the history and philosophy of the holiday before getting to the matter at hand. Starting around the middle of the 19th century, we see Hanukkah stay in the background as Jewish communities were starting to form in the US. Still viewed as consummately foreign, it took a while before Jews were given equal footing with their Catholic and Protestant counterparts. The proliferation of new American holidays (with new rituals) in the late 19th century gave Jewish leaders a chance to evaluate their own calendar and how they celebrated their holidays. American commercialism and pageantry transformed the holiday into a gift-giving occasion, and American democracy and pluralism welcomed Hanukkah into military services, television specials, and schools. In the end, Ashton argues that while American Hanukkah celebrations are markedly different than their Old World versions, it exists as a unique vehicle for reflection on American history and family bonds.
Knowing very little about Hanukkah and Jewish history, I found this book was very interesting and ripe with information. Ashton’s prose is dutiful and bring together many scholarly, secular, and popular sources. There is an interesting three-sided relationship between American values, democracy, and cultural holidays. The very nature of the country leaves its stamp on everything it comes into contact with, sometimes bad and sometimes good. If you’re interested in Jewish cultural history, then this book would be a very good place to start.
I happened to
Whenever a book I read mentions Unitarians, I feel compelled to point it out since it is such a rare occurrence for us. In this case, the book explains that Reform Rabbi set up Christmas-Hanukkah meeting between his Temple Youth League and the teens of the local Unitarian church because “that very liberal Christian group could be trusted not to evangelize to the Jewish youngsters.” (Not all Unitarians are Christians but I understand the point.)
I found Hanukkah in America to be a really interesting, educational book. I think people of all religions could learn a lot from this detailed account of how Hanukkah has become what it is today.