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Religion and Public Schools

© Leah Magid

A local committee of which I am a member strives to bring what some call tolerance to our community. I don’t like the word tolerance. It gives an impression of superiority. “Yes, I put up with those who are different than I am.” Rather, I prefer a term like education. What the committee tries to do is bring educational materials and programming into the district. The children in our public schools learn about Native Americans, Africans, Europeans, and occasionally, they learn about “other” religions.

Now, here’s where the problem arises. It’s no big deal to read a book about Native American culture, even if it includes a depiction of a religious or spiritual event. It’s not a problem to study an African tribe, and their religious beliefs. The children read stories about children in Poland, Finland, Italy – no problem because the stories usually don’t include any mention of religion. But when the holidays roll around and we start to talk about the differences between Hanukkah and Christmas, watch out!

If a mother such as myself comes in to tell the historical story of Hanukkah, chances run high that I will come up against an equally involved parent wanting to tell “the real story of Christmas.”

I have talked myself blue in the face trying to explain that one of the main differences is that the story of Hanukkah was not the start of a world religion for billions of people over thousands of years. The story of Hanukkah is merely a tale of a war fought by a small group of determined people who were being forced to give up their religion. They fought hard, they had some losses, but they eventually prevailed. The story is about fighting for what one believes in. The story ends with a “miracle” of oil enough only for a day perhaps lasting eight days, long enough for more oil to be delivered for the temple dedication. In fact, Hanukkah means “dedication”. The story of Christmas, however, is the story of the birth of a savior, the son of God to many. Big difference there. Yes, odds were overcome, yes, there was a miracle. But no, it’s not the same. It’s like comparing potato pancakes with figgy pudding, dreidle with caroling, a menorah with a Christmas tree.

The two holidays happen to fall near the same time of year. Christmas has a solid date. Hanukkah runs on the lunar calendar, and is different all the time. But because the holidays fall in the winter months, they are lumped together, and compared all the time.

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