A Jewish Child at Christmas

It's interesting when you're raising a Jewish toddler around the Christmas season. Thanks to weekly Sabbath services at school, Rachel has a healthy knowledge of Shabbat and it's a true joy to hear her singing songs in Hebrew on the way to school or other destinations.

Still, she's very much aware of what a Christmas tree is and she wanted to join in when a children's choir sang carols the other night at the extended care facility where my uncle is being treated.

But it's obvious she has developed a Jewish identity as well. The other day, someone asked Rachel what Santa Claus was going to bring her and she replied by singing, "Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay..."

Tonight, we celebrated my wife's birthday by going to a Japanese grill where they prepare your dinner at the table. As we're walking into the restaurant, Rachel takes note of five reindeer in white lights "grazing" in the grass outside the front door. She called them "goats." How innocent!

So after Rachel gets enough rice to fill herself up, she wanders out of the room where we're eating. She finds one of those tabletop Santas who perpetually sways his hips from side to side while "Jingle Bell Rock" plays over and over. Rachel does a perfect imitation of the dance and even brings her "Little People" over to see how it's done. The tabletop Santa fascinated her to no end.

There is also a giant Santa overlooking the waiting room. She looks up at him and says, not, "Hello, Santa", but "Hello, man!" Again, too cute for words.