Mark's Notebook

Christmas doesn't need special protection

Concord Monitor

by Ken Braiterman

"War" is too strong a word to describe what my father went through trying to raise Jewish kids in public school in the 1950s, but the Christmas celebration in our school in Baltimore certainly created a conflict for him. Teaching a 5-year-old that he and his neighbors are the same as people, equal as citizens, but different, is a hard job for a Jewish parent when the child's entire world transforms itself for weeks in honor of Christmas.

My father, Marvin Braiterman, was an intense (but not orthodox) Jew who felt commanded by the Bible to teach his religion diligently to his children. He was also a civil rights lawyer who, had he been there, would have included the First Amendment somewhere in the Ten Commandments.

He had nothing against people who lit up their homes, or merchants who decorated their stores, or TV stations that showed Christmas specials. All that was free speech and the free exercise of religion, protected by the First Amendment. He understood the beauty and power of Christmas for Christian believers, and also the vital role its traditions play in the lives of families who are not religious.

He wanted his children to learn about that when we were old enough to understand it, after we had a firm footing in our own tradition. But how could he explain the song we learned in second grade that said, "Come let us adore him, Christ the Lord?" Christ is not our lord, he told us. He is the neighbors' lord. But the neighbors believe in the same God we do. We just don't believe God had a son. Christmas is not our holiday. We have Hanukkah.

Because my school was half Jewish, we had both a Christmas and a Hanukkah play to promote tolerance, understanding and brotherhood. My father didn't think either one had any place in the public school.

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009