Holiday Season — The derivation of the word holiday can be traced back to the Old English word for holy day. Although the word holiday is no longer used exclusively for days that have religious significance, the word still has religious connotations. For this reason, I associate the start of the holiday season with Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah began at sunset on December 6, and will close on Monday, December 14. If any of you are interested in learning more about the history of Hanukkah, I recommend that you read a recent blog post written by my friend and colleague James Tabor. Here is the link: http://jamestabor.com/2015/12/05/hanukkah-yes-but-what-about-kislev-24-2/
In our religiously diverse country, we are often unsure how to celebrate or commemorate the religious holidays associated with religions that are not our own. For many American Jews, the holiday of Christmas is an especially tricky issue. During my childhood, this issue arose every December. My mother came from a Christian background and enjoyed celebrating Christmas, while my father came from a Jewish background and never felt entirely comfortable with my mother’s Christmas doings. Still, my father made his peace with Christmas by contributing to our own family traditions during the holiday season. For my father, the high point of the Christmas season was reading Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol aloud to our entire family. I wrote about this aspect of my family history in a column that ran in Charlotte Viewpoint a few years ago. Here is the link: http://www.charlotteviewpoint.org/article/2922/’A-Christmas-Carol’-bridges-family-traditions
Irving Berlin, another American Jew, also made his peace with Christmas. In fact, he wrote “White Christmas,” which is one of the most famous Christmas songs ever recorded. Berlin’s “White Christmas” debuted in the the 1942 film Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. As a Jew, Berlin found that writing this song was a bit of a challenge, but he overcame this challenge by celebrating the aspects of Christmas that transcend particular religious teachings or themes.
As we look forward to the English Department’s holiday party on Thursday, I think we too can celebrate the holidays while respecting our religiously diverse community. I like to think that there is plenty of room for all of us at our own Holiday Inn.
Kudos— As you know, I like to use my Monday Missives to share news about recent accomplishments by members of our department. Here is the latest news:
Allison Hutchcraft has been awarded a Regional Artist Project Grant from Charlotte’s Arts & Science Council in conjunction with the North Carolina Arts Council to work on her book manuscript.
Sarah Minslow published a review of Genocide in Contemporary Children’s and Young Adult Literature in the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.
Maya Socolovsky published an article titled “Cultural (Il)literacy: Narrative of Epistolary Resistance and Transnational Citizenship in Julia Alvarez’s Return to Sender” in the most recent issue of the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly.
Upcoming Events and Deadlines— Here is a date to keep in mind:
December 10 — The English Department holiday party will take place on December 10, 2015, from 11:30-1:30 in the faculty/staff lounge. As usual, this will be a potluck event. There is a potluck sign up sheet at the front desk.
Quirky Quiz Question — Bing Crosby’s recording of “White Christmas” holds the record for being the best-selling single of all time, but many other singers have also recorded this song. In 1944 another famous crooner released a version of the song that also was a hit on Billboard magazine’s singles chart. This crooner’s 100th birthday falls on December 12 of this year. What is the name of this famous singer?
Last week’s answer: oranges
Pilar Blitvich just returned from Valencia, Spain, which is sometimes called the Orchard of Spain. Valencia is especially famous for what type of fruit?