Interfaith families create their own meaningful holiday traditions.
Rachael Vettese
T2T staff photos by Jessica Polk
t is that time of year again — time when adults
and kids have their eyes set on the fast-ap-
proaching holiday break. Although many look
forward to break because it includes resting, going
on vacations and presents for the holidays, there are
those whose holidays are not nearly as simple.
Some families are half Jewish and half Christian,
so when it comes to the winter holidays, it can be
hard to celebrate both. Many compromises are usu-
ally made on both sides of the family for everyone
to be happy.
Interfaith marriages are a lot more prevalent
then some may think. Nearly 52 percent of Jewish
men and women are part of an interfaith marriage
— when someone who is Jewish marries somebody
who is not. In a 2000 national Jewish population
survey conducted by Uniteed Jewish Communities,
it was found that there are about 40,000 interfaith
marriages per year in the United States. Accord-
ing to the 2005 Detroit Jewish Population Study of
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, the
intermarriage rate here is 16 percent, which is the
fourth lowest of about 55 comparison Jewish com-
munities.
Although these marriages are happy events, they
can also be problematic. When a person decides to
get married to someone outside of his/her faith, the
topic of religion can become an important issue.
Questions might arise about conversion and about
what religion kids will be raised: the mother's, the
father's, both or neither? How to celebrate holidays
is another important topic, one that often results in
creating a new tradition unique to that family.
For the Wright family of Novi, that tradition has
been in place for a while. Callie, 14, is being raised
Jewish, her mother Shelley's religion. She attends
Sunday school at the Jewish Parents Institute, which
has many interfaith families and meets at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield. Her father
Although the Wrights have a Christmas tree in
their house during the holiday season, they celebrate
Christmas as a time of giving, not in a religious way.
A snowman rather than an angel sits at the top of
the Christmas tree.
"Snowmen are everywhere in our home — they
are festive and wintry and nondenominational,"
Shelley said.
"When we decided to get married, we decided
to raise our kids as Jews with the knowledge and
understanding of both religions," she said.
CaMe Wright Is being brought up Jewish; her family tradition
also includes a Christmas tree topped by a snowman.
Dan is Catholic, but he grew up in Southfield sur-
rounded by a large Jewish population and attended
many traditional b'nai mitzvah. He fits right in say-
ing the Chanukah prayers when the menorah is lit
each winter.
Honoring Family
Many teens in our area today are from or know peo-
ple who are a part of an interfaith family. Sometimes
it can be hard trying to balance the two different
religions. Each side of the family wants teens to be
there for their special occasions, including some that
are religious.
When you are raised in a Jewish household but
have Christian grandparents, it can be especially
hard around the holiday season. To make matters
even more difficult, many times Chanukah and
Christmas will fall around the same time. For exam-
ple, this year they take place during the same week.
However, there are some ways to make both sides
of the family happy and still be raised Jewish.
Callie's father's side of the family is very support-
ive about her being raised Jewish. All of his side of
the family came into town for her bat mitzvah at the
Jewish Parents Institute. However, she does spend
time with grandparents by occasionally attending
church with them as a show of unity. Like Callie's
grandparents, her friends are supportive as well.
They have had various holiday parties where Callie
brings in latices for everyone to share and enjoy.
"I like celebrating both Chanukah and Christ-