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ly finds December to be stressful. His children attend Mary Johnsâ€" ton public school in Waterloo, and though the school makes every effort to include Chanukah in its holiday festivities, the four or five Jewish children who attend the school often feel isolated when approximately 600 other students "m t here‘s that, and it‘s very difficult for three years old), especially the seven year old, take it more in It is a confusing time for Jewish children who are too young to see past the commercial, materialisâ€" tic aspect of the Christian holiday and too young to understand the deep religious meaning behind their own. It‘s difficult for young children to see Chanukah and Christmas as totally different religious holidays â€" one for Jews and one for Christians. And it‘s almost impossible for young Jewâ€" ish children not to feel envious and left out of an overpowering Christmas celebration, when they are virtually immersed in it. December is also difficult for Jewish families, as parents try to instill and strengthen their chilâ€" dren‘s Jewish faith, while stress ing to them that Chanukah is "not the Jewish equivalent to Rothschild, president of Temple Shalom, the area‘s only Reform Jewish synagogue, says his famiâ€" Nonâ€"Jewish friends boast about what they want and what they‘ll probably get for Christmas, teleâ€" vision cartoon specials monopeâ€" lize the air waves with messages of Christmas joy, and departâ€" mentâ€"store Santas ask "other" children if they‘ve been naughty or if they‘ve been nice. December can be a confusing time for young Jewish children as they become inundated with Christmas. Streets and shopping malls are dressed in holiday style, as are schools where Christmas parties are often held in class house," Rothschild‘s sevenâ€"yearâ€" old son will answer matterâ€"ofâ€"factâ€" ly. "We‘re Jewish. We celebrate Chanukah" Jews, in a predominently nonâ€" Jewish world, are faced annually with the "December Dilemma" â€" the dilemma of celebrating the Jewi&h holiday of Chanukah in a society where Christmas has an over}:elming presence. It‘s typical at this time of year, says Charlie Rothschild, to have a cashier in a department store ask his children what they want Santa to bring them for Christâ€" f ;BOB GRAy | , : MUSIC LTD.| _ -FDCUS 1‘ Sss THE DECEMBER DILEMMA PAGE A10 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1990 z SHOPPERS DRUG MART: "zy>~ | «s Everything You Want In A Drug Store Fhce pouiveny seeâ€"a530 CS * CARDS , ALL OCCASIONS + GIFT WRAPPING » SOAPS : ~~~~*» VITAMINS «* PAPER PRODUCTS + PHARMACY where the Jewish identity is not that strong, children may become confused about the Jewish and Christian holidays in December. found we had to make Chanukah a special celebration, quite diffeâ€" rent from Christmas." Bob Chodos, principal of the religious school at Temple Shaâ€" lom, says his children have few difficulties in dealing with the Christmas season, because their Jewi@idsnfityhumhma question. sophaiied tns demigh coaiee tion of Chanukah," Chodos says. "Our children have a strong sense of being Jewish." _ stride. But my older son (11) feels a bit of anger, because he feels he‘s being deprived of something everybody else has. He expresses that anger and frustration." Sandra Singer says, as a Jewish household, her family celebrates Chanukah in a way that makes it special for her children. She said last year, she let her threeâ€"yearâ€" old attend nursery school Christâ€" mas parties and visit the Santa displays in shopping malls, but stopped this year because it was becoming too confusing for her in a predominently nonâ€"Jewish society, young Jewish children may lose sight of their Jewish heritage and identity. "Once we sorted things out for says. "We tion) celebrates the reâ€"dedication of the Temple after three years in Greek hands. As told by the first book of .mSyrhntymtAnfio iphanes, attempting to force the Jews to accept the Greek way of life, forbade the study of }&wl‘mhmdhx‘n 167 BCE defiled y a growing numâ€" ber of rebels, lead by Jg:hsy:t‘ Maccabee t against s innfaeumhmnbletorede dicate the Temple on the 25th of Kislev (Jewish New Year), exactâ€" ly three years after it‘s desecraâ€" and rabbi at Temple Shalom, says the December dilemma is a very sensitive issue, and affects Jewâ€" ish people living in a Christian society in several ways. "Often, Chanukah is drawn up as a parallel to Christmas, but in‘ Judaism, Chanukah is only a minor holiday," Memis says. "Sometimes Jews feel a need to raise the level of Chanukah up to the level that Christmas is celeâ€" brated in terms of giving preâ€" sents. Not that that‘s right or wrong, but some Jews feel the need to do this, especially those with small children who feel a loss at not having Christmas." Memis says it is important for Jewish families that Chanukah be celebrated as the religious holiday it is, and not be compared WATERLOO LOCATIONS: wWaATERLOOtown | BEEcHwoonp | â€" conest tion "Parents can teach children about that miracle and how lightâ€" ing the menorah is the end of the story of fighting assimilation and being able to practice Judaism," Memis says. She says parents can make Chanukah an exciting time of year for children by following many of the customs relating to the holiday. For example, houseâ€" holds may serve foods fried in oil which are representative of the oil found in the temple. Special games such as dreidl also make the ‘holiday unique for Jewish L73 id! is a sp game and the four side%wh‘;p bear letters which in Hebrew repreâ€" sent the phrase, "A Miracle Hapâ€" pened There, refering to the miraâ€" cle of the oil in the Temple. "These customs can bring the family together, and can teach the children about the festivities of Chanukah," Memis says. Inside the Temple, Judah found only one cruse of pure oil with the seal of the High Priest with which to reâ€"light the eternal flame â€" enough to last only one day. But miraculously, the oil burned for eight days. In celebration of the miracle of the oil, Jewish families light one candle on the menorah on the 25th of Kislev and add one candle on each of remaining days of the Chanuka celebration. Memis says she feels there should be a stronger separation of church and state, leaving reliâ€" gious celebrations out of schools. However, she doesn‘t object to children studying different reliâ€" gious holidays in school. "There‘s nothing wrong with teaching about the different holiâ€" days people have in different religions," she says. "But when you have Christmas parties, and then you want to bring in Chanuâ€" kah parties to equate it, I don‘t don‘t have to be isolated from Christmas, and it‘s okay for them to know and learn about Christâ€" mas, but it‘s crucial that they are not equating Chanukah with that they are Jewish." Amy Memis will speak about the issues the Decemâ€" berdilemmattb%‘un’filoShn- lom‘s Friday program. proâ€" gram will begin with Shabbat services at 8 p.m., and refreshâ€" ments will be served afterwards. The Temple is located in the basement of the Church of the Food Shepherd, 116 Queen St. N Memis says Jewish children ‘‘They need to be given a strong they have a place in as Jews be proud can celeâ€"