Chanukah And Christmas Memories

Thinking back to when I was a kid, I had the best of both worlds. While I was raised Jewish, I also got a pretty good dose of Christmas. As I mentioned in episode 053, my mom converted to Judaism to marry my dad. I was fortunate that my aunt (her sister) lived close by, so every Christmas Eve, I went over to her house to spend it with her, my uncle and my cousin. I’d sleep over and wake up to gifts under the tree! It was rare, if it happened at all, that Chanukah and Christmas overlapped, so December was a good month for me as far as getting gifts goes. Since my birthday is at the end of November, the last six weeks of the year were very nice.

With my mom’s death earlier this month, I’ve been thinking about both her and my dad and my childhood. A few funny memories happened during the holiday season. Maybe in the same year, but I don’t remember. I talk about running from the bathtub in a pink women’s bathrobe outside to see Santa riding a firetruck and getting a candy cane from a firefighter. Ironically, the other memory is about burning my hair with a Chanukah candle while lighting the menorah. Fortunately, I didn’t need a firefighter that night. Though I wonder if me going bald as an adult is a survival mechanism.

I participated in a couple of Keystone Chapter events for the holidays. One was a fundraiser and one was the reason we raise funds. The fundraiser was a gift wrapping day at Barnes and Noble on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. The day Eliz and I did it was on 23 December, the last full shopping day before Christmas. The store was mobbed and we received many donations for our free gift-wrapping service. It was a far cry from when we did this a few years ago. The other event was gift-giving to all the students at St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments. Eliz went with me (and by that, I mean she drove me and helped hand out the cupcakes we also brought.) The kids were so excited by the gifts, especially since they were given to them by Santa himself, with help from Mrs. Claus. (Eliz and I took a picture with Santa and his old lady and I’m trying to get a copy of it.)

If you’d like to donate to the Keystone Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, send checks to:
Keystone Chapter, NFB of PA
1500 Walnut Street, Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19102.