(Edited to add translations of terms that may not be familiar to everyone)
(Click linky above to get to the comments and questions.)#DearTeachers,
We are still weeks away from #Chanukah (even though sufganiyot [holiday doughnuts] have already been on bakery shelves for weeks! WHY??), but we are entering into what our #Christian friends refer to as "The Christian Holiday Season."
Did you know that #Christians have more #chagim [holidays] than just Yom [day of] Saint Francis Ha’Kadosh [the holy, honorific] ?
Surprisingly, in countries like #MedinatVatican, the #HolidaySeason is beginning now!
Although it is natural for us to feel sorry for the Christian children whose parents make them miss out on the joy of celebrating the fall chagim with EVERYONE, some Christian families find their own winter chagim to be just as #joyful and fulfilling!
This week, Christians began their celebration of the First Christian Omer [ritual counting of days], which they refer to as “#Advent,” meaning “arrival.”
Christians count the weeks of the First Christian Omer using a special menorah. This past First Day [Sunday], they lit their first candle.
The First Christian Omer Menorah, which is also called an “Advent wreath,” is a circular menorah with four or five candles, frequently decorated with greenery, used to count the weeks until Yom Christmas.
Unlike a normal menorah, for which we use any color of candles, Christian halacha [religious law] mandates that the First Christian Omer menorah must have three purple candles and one pink candle.
In the four weeks leading up to Yom #Christmas, one candle is lit on each First Day, the three purple candles first, and then the pink.
For the purpose of tosefet “Advent,” some Christians add a single white candle as well, usually from a Shabbat set, to be lit on Yom Christmas.
Unlike a normal #menorah, the First Christian Omer menorah uses large candles, which are sold in a pack of only four candles.
The whole candle is not allowed to burn down— the same candle is reused the following week, so Christian families must be careful not to allow their candles to burn too long, lest the first-lit candle not last until the end of the holiday.
Families identifying as Christian observe a variety of different #holidays in this #season, but all of the holidays have their dates calculated based on Yom Christmas.
This may be why Christians tend to say “Happy Holidays” even when context makes it clear that they only mean Yom Christmas and not normal holidays like #Sigd, #Chanukkah, or #Kwanzaa.
The first yom tov [holiday, as a specific day of observance] that falls in this period is Yom Saint Nikolas Ha’Kadosh, the yahrzeit [memorial] of a popular Christian tzaddik [righteous person].
Yom Christmas, celebrating the birth of the Christian prophet comes next, and it is the yom tov at the start of a 12-day period popularly called the Shneim-Asar Yemei [12 days of] Christmas.
Some Christians will ask to take #vacations on the many days of chol Ha’Mo’ed [period between two days of observance that start and end a mutli-day holiday, during which work and ordinary activities are permitted] that fall during the Shneim-Asar Yemei Christmas. This period includes an additional day of yom tov, namely, the Pope Gregory Rosh Hashanah (the bris [circumcision] of the Christian prophet).
The Shneim Asar Yemei Christmas end with a yom tov the day after the 12th day of Christmas, called “#Epiphany”. On this date, the Three Wise Guys are said to have visited the newborn prophet to give him gifts.
Christian halacha does not prohibit work on any of the above holidays, and the two most widely celebrated holidays, Yom Christmas and the Pope Gregory Rosh Hashanah, both fall on a weekend this year.
These chagim last only one day, even outside Medinat Vatican. Therefore, you should ask for a letter from a student’s Christian rabbi if they are asking to be excused from school at any point during the Christian holiday season this year.
Due to the weekend timing of the main holidays, there is no need to offer alternate dates for exams or other school functions.
I hope you've had a #ShavuaTov [good week] and will have a #ShabbatShalom!
Rambam County #PublicSchools Superintendent Mandelboim
#MedinatAmerica