To the editor: Regarding Eli Federman’s piece on holiday lights, there is nothing wrong with illuminated Hanukkah decorations. After all, Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, a holiday celebrating Jews who fought off pressure to conform to a culture that wasn’t theirs.
Christmas has been in our faces and ears since Halloween: lights, music, store displays, commercials and more. Isn’t that enough? Jews are not missing out on light, beauty or anything else by celebrating Hanukkah.
Being Jewish is enough. And being Jewish doesn’t mean that one can’t enjoy the beauty of the season.
But Hanukkah is not Jewish Christmas.
Jo Perry, Studio City
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To the editor: One thing the writer left out: With the eight days of Hanukkah starting on Christmas, the Jewish festival will stretch into the first days of January. Meaning, most 2025 calendars will include two Hanukkahs — one at the beginning, and another near the end. And with the way the world has looked in 2024, next year we’re gonna need as much light as we can get!
Hank Rosenfeld, Santa Monica
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To the editor: My young son was raised in the Jewish faith but had watched the “Peanuts” Christmas special the op-ed writer discusses many times. Then one Christmas Eve he attended midnight Mass with his Catholic grandparents. When the Gospel of Luke was read during the Mass, he whispered to them in astonishment, “I didn’t know the Gospel quoted ‘Peanuts!’ ” It was truly a work that unified all people, if not in the spirit of “Christmas,” at least in the spirit of peace and goodwill to all.
Jane Diamond, Sherman Oaks