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Should Hanukkah have the hype? Lauren snerson and avery lieberman

The holiday season is exciting for everyone: bright lights and the smell of fresh cookies out of the oven. However, for those of us that don’t celebrate Christmas, the holiday season seems underwhelming, considering everything is so focused around Christmas. Yes, the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas. According to a study by Pew Research Center, 70.6% of Americans are of Christian descent, but what about the other 30%? Our families love decorating for Hanukkah and making the most of it, especially after a tough year like this one. However, it is so hard for us to find decorations. The majority of stores you walk into it have shelves and shelves filled with stockings, ornaments, ugly Christmas sweaters and signs that say “Noel”. You look to the left and see a singular table with one Menorah and a few signs that say “I love you a latke”. It is unfair. Even though the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, you are allowed to practice religion freely in America, so why does Christmas get all of the attention when not everyone celebrates it?

The hype around Christmas decorations has led to Hanukkah traditions based off of Christmas classics. For example, most are aware of the magical “Elf on the Shelf” which comes from the North Pole each year to spy on the children and report back to Santa, all while moving to creative places around the house. The Hanukkah knockoff is called “Mensch on a Bench”, which has become extremely popular for families celebrating Hanukkah because they want to be included in the tales of their “elf”. In addition, Hanukkah bushes have recently become popular, where families buy a blue tinsel tree and decorate it accordingly with blue and white, as a knock off Christmas tree. We talked to West Essex students and faculty to hear their favorite Hanukkah traditions, along with their opinions on different controversies surrounding Hanukkah.

Sam Goldstein (Senior)

Favorite food? Latkes, obviously

Favorite tradition? we have little boxes that we get to open eat night with a little gift in it like gelt or a lottery ticket

Hanukkah Harry or Mensch on a Bench? Why? Mensch on a Bench because it’s objectively better

Is Hanukkah overrated, underrated or rated? Underrated. Anyone who says Christmas is better is wrong

Best night? Night 2 is the best

Latkes with or without applesauce? with apple sauce. They’re so much better

Jeremy Caplan (Senior)

Spelling? Hanukkah

Hanukkah Harry or Mensch on a Bench? Why? Bench cause it sounds better

Best night? first

Best present? Xbox

Latkes with or without applesauce? without

Ms. Vaknin (History Teacher)

Favorite tradition? Lighting the candles

Hanukkah Harry or Mensch on a Bench? Why? Neither, not trying to copy Christmas

Is Hanukkah overrated, underrated or rated? Overrated unless you have (or are) little kids

Best present? It's been a while since I've received one

Latkes with or without applesauce? Both sour cream and apple sauce

Do you feel Hanukkah is fairly represented in and out of school? It's not represented but it's not an issue of fairness. Hanukkah is not the same as Christmas.

Garrett Kessler (Senior on the Wessex Wire)

Spelling: Chanukkah because I like to be fancy with the Ch

Hanukkah Harry or Mensch on a Bench? Why? Mensch on the bench because i am a mensch

Latkes with or without applesauce? Without applesauce looks like baby vomit

Avery Shaw (Senior)

Favorite food? Latkes or jelly donuts

Favorite tradition: Hanukkah party with my grandparents, cousins, aunts/uncles, and mom and dad

Best night? Every night feels the same to me

Latkes with or without applesauce? Depends on my mood

Emily Carpenter (Freshman)

Favorite tradition? Playing dreidel with my family

Hanukkah Harry or Mensch on a Bench? Why? Mensch on the bench. Me and my sister love it!

Latkes with or without applesauce? With applesauce!

Happy Hanukkah from the Wessex Wire

Credits:

Created with images by RJA1988 - "christmas christmas tree winter holidays" • RJA1988 - "hanukkah hanuka judaism" • Ri_Ya - "dreidel chanukah jewish" • Ri_Ya - "hanukkah jewish judaism" • Ri_Ya - "hanukkah dreidel mitzvah" • EvgeniT - "hanukkah judaism candlestick" • Unknown - "Cookies for Hanukkah · Free Stock Photo" • Unknown - "Happy Hanukkah Greeting Free Stock Photo - Public Domain ..." • Unknown - "Gifts and Cookies for Hanukkah · Free Stock Photo" • Unknown - "Kostenloses Foto zum Thema: bar mizwa, cookies, davidstern" • Unknown - "Foto profissional gratuita de café da manhã israelense ..." • Unknown - "Candles Burning · Free Stock Photo"