Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

54 | DECEMBER 23 • 2021

Oh, Christmas Tree
D

r. Jeff London’s essay in the recent
Dec. 2 issue of the JN, “The Most
Chanukah Time of the Year …
Making Peace with Christmas,
” intrigued me.
London provided a personal review of grow-
ing up Jewish and dealing with a non-Jewish
religious holiday that dominates America
every December of the calendar year, as well
as how he approaches the celebration of
Chanukah.
London also raises import-
ant questions and concerns
about religious assimilation in
America. It is likely that many
in Detroit’s Jewish community
have also considered these
same issues.
Then, after reading London’s
thoughtful essay, it was report-
ed that a national TV news host, when speak-
ing about Christmas trees, declared: “It’s a
tree that unites us, that brings us together. It
is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the
holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about
Chanukah.
” Perhaps this is not seriously
offensive, but this person doesn’t seem to
understand much about Chanukah and, with
a bit of holiday chauvinism, decided that our
national — and religious — spirit is embod-
ied in a tree with lights and ornaments.

And I wondered — what stories would I
find in the William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History about Chanukah
and Christmas; in particular, Christmas trees
and Jewish Detroit. I found 381 entries just by
searching the Archive for “Christmas Tree.
”

The first lesson from my search is that
“Chanukah and Christmas,
” or sometimes,
“Chanukah vs. Christmas,
” is a topic of many
essays and editorials over the past 100 years.
This annual tradition began in 1918. For
one example, see Rabbi Leo Franklin’s essay,
“Christmas and the Jew,
” in the Dec. 20, 1918,
issue of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle. Franklin
advocated that, apart from religion, celebra-
tions of “joy, cheerfulness and good fellow-
ship” with their “higher meanings of peace
and good will” were a good thing. However,
Jews were not “justified in the introduction of

the Christmas tree and other
non-Jewish symbols into
their homes.
”
The Chronicle endorsed
this general perspective
throughout its publishing life.
Celebrating good wishes with
gentiles was OK, but the answer
to the Chanukah-Christmas
issue is a good Jewish educa-
tion for children … and no
Christmas trees in Jewish homes.
Ironically, however, the
Chronicle did print various
Christmas advertisements. In
the Dec. 20, 1946, Chronicle,
for example, there is an adver-
tisement from the Detroit
Edison Company extolling the
Christmas tree (and, of course,
use of electric lights for trees as
modern and safe).

Over the years, the notion of
Jews and Christmas trees has
evolved. The 2018 survey of
Detroit’s Jewish community
showed that 63.3% of house-
holds always or usually light
Chanukah candles and 25%
always or usually have a Christmas tree.
Likewise, many cities since the 1980s
now display menorahs along with
Christmas trees on public proper-
ties. Essays in the JN also discuss
these trends (see the Dec. 15 and
22, 2016, JN), as well as “Chanukah
Bushes” as a substitute name for a
tree (Dec. 10, 2009, JN).
To be sure, Christmas lights and
trees can be overwhelming when one
drives around the city in December.
But the positive is that, after a century
of debate, there is now a giant meno-
rah in Downtown Detroit, along with
a Christmas tree, and they seem to get
along well.

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair