Today, many American Jews mark December 25th with a familiar ritual: Chinese food and a movie. But just a few hundred years ago, Yiddish-speaking Jews in Europe spent Christmas Eve feasting, drinking, dancing, and gambling. Jordan Chad, author of Christmas in Yiddish Tradition: The Untold Story offers the surprising argument that while Jews never celebrated the birth of Jesus, Christmas did not become the strictly Christian holiday we know today until Jews started migrating to the New World. Before then, Jewish midwinter traditions developed as variants of their European neighbors’ celebrations.

Join us for a fascinating talk about how the place of Christmas in Jewish collective memory evolved from the year’s jolliest vacation to its most dangerous disturbance. Following the lecture, there will be a Q&A session and, of course, kosher Chinese food.

This program is free to attend in person or virtually, but advance RSVP is required. Please register for each individual who will attend.

If you have any questions, please contact Sonya Weisburd at sweisburd@edcjcc.org.

Jordan Chad is a multidisciplinary researcher affiliated with the University of Toronto’s Centre for Jewish Studies. His work has been published in journals including Contemporary Jewry and Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies.

This program is a part of the annual Wexler Lecture series made possible by the Edlavitch DCJCC’s Bernard Wexler Fund for Jewish History.

Accommodations: ADA Accessible Venue

Organization: Edlavitch DCJCC

Livestream or Virtual: No, it’s not