Don’t let the fact that Hanukkah in America is published by an academic press scare you off. It’s a very readable book about the history of Hanukkah and how it evolved from a minor Jewish holiday into the holiday that most non-Jews think is the holiest of all the Jewish holidays.

I happened to already know that Hanukkah is a minor holiday but I wasn’t aware of how it became the elaborately celebrated holiday that is today. This book explains in detail how Hanukkah has grown and changed over the last century to deal with what has become known as the December Dilemma. As the author of one Hanukkah guide mentioned in this book observed, “Christmas heightens one’s awareness of one’s Jewishness almost as much as any single Jewish holiday.” Because Jewish children felt left out of the fun and merriment of Christmas, Jewish leaders tried various things to make Hanukkah more fun for them so that the children’s families wouldn’t feel the need to erect a Christmas tree as some of them had been doing. On example is that a Kansas City chapter of the NFTS (National Foundation of Temple Sisterhoods) printed directions for a Hanukkah party complete with food, games, costumes and more.

Whenever a book I read mentions Unitarians, I feel compelled to point it out since it is such a rare occurrence for us. In this case, the book explains that Reform Rabbi set up Christmas-Hanukkah meeting between his Temple Youth League and the teens of the local Unitarian church because “that very liberal Christian group could be trusted not to evangelize to the Jewish youngsters.” (Not all Unitarians are Christians but I understand the point.)

I found Hanukkah in America to be a really interesting, educational book. I think people of all religions could learn a lot from this detailed account of how Hanukkah has become what it is today. ( )

Hanukkah is one of the oldest religious observances still extant and celebrates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolts during the 2nd century BCE. It begins on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar and continues for eight nights and days. For almost two thousand years, it was a solemn occasion replete with songs, rituals, and reflection. But, like all things, when Jewish populations increased in the United States, it became a much more diverse and interesting event. Dianne Ashton’s Hanukkah in America is a look at how changes in America’s social landscape intertwined with and transformed Hanukkah forever.

Ashton’s book covers the history and philosophy of the holiday before getting to the matter at hand. Starting around the middle of the 19th century, we see Hanukkah stay in the background as Jewish communities were starting to form in the US. Still viewed as consummately foreign, it took a while before Jews were given equal footing with their Catholic and Protestant counterparts. The proliferation of new American holidays (with new rituals) in the late 19th century gave Jewish leaders a chance to evaluate their own calendar and how they celebrated their holidays. American commercialism and pageantry transformed the holiday into a gift-giving occasion, and American democracy and pluralism welcomed Hanukkah into military services, television specials, and schools. In the end, Ashton argues that while American Hanukkah celebrations are markedly different than their Old World versions, it exists as a unique vehicle for reflection on American history and family bonds.

Knowing very little about Hanukkah and Jewish history, I found this book was very interesting and ripe with information. Ashton’s prose is dutiful and bring together many scholarly, secular, and popular sources. There is an interesting three-sided relationship between American values, democracy, and cultural holidays. The very nature of the country leaves its stamp on everything it comes into contact with, sometimes bad and sometimes good. If you’re interested in Jewish cultural history, then this book would be a very good place to start. ( )