Personal Training

Being a Jew on Xmas & New Cereal!

Posted on by Naomi

I am Jewish. I eat matzoh balls on passover latkes on Hanukkah. I dip apples in honey on Rosh Hashanah, (which you can read about here from my post during September which was Rosh Hashanah)  had my Bat-Mitzvah when I was 13 and all 4 of my grandparents are holocaust survivors. Judaism runs deep in my blood 


“cool, Naomi…Thanks for sharing” you may say to yourself, but let me explain. I have had the most amazing upbringing one can ask for. I was brought up in a middle-upper class city right outside of Boston in a very liberal community. Within that community, my family and I have an even tighter knit community of friends. 98% of which are all Jewish as well. 


To me, Christmas never had a meaning, by that I mean I didn’t grow up celebrating it nor did the majority of my friends. We were busy attending Hanukkah parties, spinning the dreidel and eating potato latkes during this time of year. I had a wonderful education, which included attending a separate hebrew school 1 or 2 times a week until I was 17. I was taught not only about Judaism, but other religions as well, Catholicism, muslim, and so forth. I consider myself to have a very open mind and so blessed that I was brought up learning about all different religions.


Fast forward to College in Upstate New York. This was a whole new ball game for me. I was used to living in a bubble where if you didn’t celebrate Hanukkah, this was the minority. I was the first Jewish person my roommate had ever met in her life. I began noticing this was a trend with many people I met in college. If you simply take yourself our of your comfort zone, you can learn so much
 —–
“You don’t celebrate christmas” she said to me and my other Jewish friend
“No, we celebrate Hanukkah, it is a Jewish religion” We said
“So, you don’t have a christmas tree?…what do you do? I thought everyone had a christmas tree in their house at this time of the year” she said
“No, we don’t have a christmas tree because the christmas tree represents Christmas, we have a menorah” we said
“But I thought the christmas tree was a universal symbol for this time of year”
——
….oh boy, we had so much to teach our friend. This was the actual conversation we had when we first met my roommate. Over the course of 4 years we enlightened her on the customs and differences between catholicism (what she believed in) and Judaism (what me and my friend believed it) To this day, my friend is now so much more cultured and always wishes us a happy Hanukkah or passover. She even kept passover with us for the 8 days to really become immersed in the religion.


Why am I telling you all this? for 23 years, December inevitably rolls around and I can’t go anywhere without hearing christmas music, christmas colored decor, foods, photos and christmas themed gifts. I walked into TJMAXX the other day and half the store was filled with christmas goodies. Then I spotted a shelf that was dedicated to Hanukkah. It must not have been taller than 6 feet and wider than 2. Dreidel bowls, chocolate menorah’s, candles and such filled the shelves. It was nice to see.


I am continually asked “what are you asking for for christmas?”
“I don’t celebrate christmas” I say back
“Oh, sorry”
“No, you don’t have to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong, I just celebrate Hanukkah” I politely say back
I have had this same conversation every year for 23 years


I am sharing this with you all for multiple reasons. one being to just be aware of those around you. Everyone is different and believes in different things. I have to remember this especially this time of year and be conscious of the fact that not everyone celebrates Hanukkah like me or christmas, there are other holidays and religions as well. I almost lost the top to my water Sigg water bottle at the gym the other day because it fell under a machine and a guy turned to me and said “well, I think you know what you will ask for for christmas this year” I just chuckled and continued on with my workout, but what I really wanted to say was “well actually, I won’t be asking for anything because I don’t celebrate Christmas” I held back, and just moved on


Another is to just share something about myself with you all. A part of blogging that I truly enjoy is getting to really know each and everyone of you , so when I check back everyday to your blog, I really feel like I am there with you. Its just a little something about myself I wanted to share!


I want to wish everyone a happy Holiday, whatever that holiday may be that you choose to celebrate!


**Have any of you struggled with close minded people? How do you deal with this?** for me, I like to not attack those who are close minded, but rather teach them so they have an appreciation of something that is ‘out of their comfort zone”


————
Moving onto some oats from Yesterday Morning. Served in my new Zebra bowl!
1/3 C oatbran, blueberries, raspberries, chia, truvia, dollop of Cinagro honey maple PB

Turkey wrapped up in a Josephs Lavash with arugula, Sabra, tomatoes (tucked in there)

Beautiful salad topped with lite italian. Yellow peppers are so beautiful! I love the color combo in here

Greek yogurt doing a little cirque di soleil with an apple
Yes, I had a Fresca craving. I rarely drink diet soda, but I saw this in the machine and my body was screaming to it. Once in a while, I think diet soda is ok. Everything in moderation! and let me tell you, it was phenomenal!

Dinner was some fresh cooked chicken breast slices (my mom roasted the night before!) with sweet potato slices, carrots and pepper & onion mix from TJ’s. I topped it all with cinnamon. Sound strange? well it was perfection! someone at work said it smelled like apple pie! YUM

Dessert before bed. 1/2 C cottage cheese, scoop PB2, blueberries, Honey maple Cinagro PB
Perfect Bite
————–
Today I was back to the 4:15 wake up call for work at 5. It was Pouring rain but it was also 63 degrees out. Let me remind you it is December 3rd! It is 70 out right now! just incredible, I feel like I should be at a beach (ok, took it too far) But the weather is just beatiful and I am loving it!

after my 4.3 mile run I was ready for some fuel.

1/3 C oatbran, blueberries/raspberries, 1/2 banana, Crazy Richards, cinnamon swirled in. I also had 3 eggwhites (not pictured)

Few hours later I dug into plain greek yogurt with Kashi Go Lean and a spoonful of Cocoa powder that I won from Chocolate Covered Katie’s chocolate giveaway! (Love you girl!!) this is phenomenal!!

After work I stopped at the supermarket on the way home to stock up on some usual suspects, But I also picked up some not so usual suspects



Barbara’s Ultima Organic High Fiber Cereal. 8g of fiber-Sign me up! I can’t wait to try this in some yogurt

Pitted Dates. I think some Fudge Babies or Homemade Larabars are in my future.

For lunch I was craving a breakfast type meal, so I cooked up some eggwhites with peppers, onion, ‘shrooms, low fat chedder and kale

Scrambled up on a Josephs Lavash wrap with low sodium Turkey from TJ’s and stone ground mustard. The combination may sound strange but it was so delicious! sweet, tangy and hot all in one wrap

Tah-Dah. This was SO good, I gobbled it right up. Certainly will be making a repeat and next time with salsa!

side salad of romaine, red pepper, cucumber, tomato, red pepper with side of sabra. Delicious, I just love my greens

I am off for a manicure!! Have a great day!
xo

Check out Janetha’s blog for a Chobani Giveaway



Naomi
Naomi

45 thoughts on “Being a Jew on Xmas & New Cereal!”

  2. Jen (Running With Cake) says:

    Hi Naomi! Good for you for trying to educate others about your religion. I work with loads of Jewish people, but there are also Christians and Hindu here. It’s so much fun celebrating the holidays in our office. In fact, right in our waiting/lobby area, we have a Menorah and a Christmas tree. One thing that I find is that food – no matter what kind – brings all religions together. You can definitely say that about my office. Happy Hanukkah!

  3. Meg says:

    I went to high school with a lot of Jewish people and one of my best friends is Jewish. I was always so jealous that she got to light a menorah when we were younger!
    Only one more week til Hanukkah! Can’t wait to read about it 🙂

  4. homecookedem says:

    This was a great reminder for us Christmas Peeps to remember that not everyone celebrates it. I do consider myself an open minded person, but sometimes I need gentle reminders to be aware that not everyone believes/celebrates the same things as me.

    I LOVE your zebra bowl!! Where did you get it?!! I need one!! 🙂

  6. Andrea@WellnessNotes says:

    I do celebrate Christmas, but I feel at times overwhelmed by all the Christmas decorations all around me; they are just everywhere…

    I have quite a few friends (and lots of students) who do not celebrate Christmas, so I have a lot of reminders that Christmas is certainly not universal…

    Like the other commenters, I would love it if you shared some of your traditions on your blog (only if you are comfortable doing so of course).

  7. Food Makes Fun Fuel says:

    Well I know you don’t want to hear “thanks for sharing” but I have to say thanks for sharing that. I love getting to know more about other bloggers and that’s not something I would have figured out unless you came out and said it. And it’s so true that there isn’t enough Hannukah loving in the media(besides some HILARIOUS Adam Sandler songs). From your description, I feel like you grew up in Newton? That’s where all my Jewish friends are from around Boston

  8. Abby (Nibble, Nourish, Run) says:

    Great post lady – it’s so important to remind people that this time of year is about much more than one specific holiday or religion. I grew up in a pretty diverse area, so despite celebrating Christmas, I got a lot of exposure to other religions and celebrations – it is important for me to remember that and remind myself about it though. Hope you have a great night and relaxing mani!

  9. Katie says:

    One of the first Jewish people I met was my freshman year of college – and she taught me all about it! I actually observed Yom Kippour (sp?) with her one year. I grew up in an ALL Christian community, so I had a lot of learning to do. 🙂

    Enjoy your manicure!

  11. One Healthy Apple says:

    Wow! This post really hit home because I feel the same way. There are Christmas trees everywhere! My office had a tree decorating party and threw a menorah in the corner next to it- a nice effort, but still a little silly to me given the fact that I am the only person in the office who celebrates.

    I say ‘Happy Holidays’ and move on. I think I’ll bring a little Jew flair to the blogland with you!

  12. Jessica says:

    I love this post so much!! I am just like you, but grew up with a very strong, wonderful Catholic upbringing where 98% of our friends and family were Catholic.

    I have such an appreciation for those – like you – that have a strong faith, no matter what that faith may be. I think it is wonderful that you celebrate your holidays are strongly as someone else celebrates theirs.

    You are such an awesome person, Naomi! <3

  14. Gina says:

    Thanks for sharing your story with us. Good for you for sticking to a faith, and living by it.

    I went to an all girls school in a Jewish neighborhood. Many of my friends were Jewish and I had never met anyone who was Jewish (that I knew, or understood) until I was in ninth grade. I probably unknowingly said things to my Jewish friends that really hurt them. Reading your story really took me back to my high school days.

    Thanks for sharing your story, and happy Hannukah!

  15. Erica says:

    Craziness. THIS is why we need to stop the PC stuff and allow schools to teach kids about all religions and beliefs! At my elementary school we celebrated all holidays and it was FUN to learn about all the different traditions/holidays. Josh is half Jewish. I think he got the best of both worlds and got to really learn to appreciate how awesome both holidays are 🙂

    I love your wraps- they always look incredibly delicious

  16. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says:

    “I was the first Jewish person my roommate had ever met in her life.”
    Girl. Scott’s Jewish and we lived in NC & SC for 5 yrs. I tell you, the MAJORITY of the people that met Scott, first words out of their mouth, You’re the first Jew I’ve ever known.
    Coming from N Shore of Chicago, where it’s predominatly jewish to deep south where it’s clearly not…huge shock!

    I Love Hearing your personal details, thank you for sharing so openly and I totally concur that going to another’s blog day in day out is like getting to know them and it’s great 🙂

    love you Naomi, and Merry Christmas. (kidding!)
    Happy Hanukah, for real. Send me your mailing address in an email and Ill send you a holiday card 🙂

  19. J says:

    I was raised Catholic and I attended a Catholic grade school but a public high school. I now attend a Catholic university. However, after a few Theology courses. I know enough about the Catholic religion to disagree with…well, most of it. I have also only met a few (less than 30) Jewish people in my life. I can’t imagine a world where Christianity is the minority. Now that you bring it up, Hannukah is almost down-played or pushed aside in the retail world. Thanks so much for sharing your holiday thoughts!

  20. Sophia says:

    Wow, Naomi! Thanks for letting us know. I have limited “exposure” to Jewish people, so I really don’t know much about their customs and traditions. I love how open-minded you are…you’ve got a great education!

  21. MelindaRD says:

    Yay, I am so excited as I did not know you were Jewish too. I have had similar experiences. It is tough too being over here with only a couple other jewish people on this base. I am always explaining why I do not have a tree and all that stuff. I always covered the shift on Christmas so others could be with families since all I was going to do was get some Chinese and see a movie. I can;t believe only 1 week until Hanukah! Happy Hanukah to you.

  22. Julia says:

    Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog, means a lot!

    Lovely eats, mmm! And I find it so interesting to hear about different cultures, religions and traditions. Thanks for sharing.

    xxx Julia (Taste of Living)

  23. Shannon says:

    Thanks for sharing your beliefs and more about you! I love that you went to a Jewish school that also taught you about other religions. I used to be a school counselor at a Catholic school, and one of the things I loved about that school was how they taught all religions and opened student’s minds to the many beliefs that people hold. After all, education is where it starts.

  25. eatmovelove says:

    If anyone can tell me how to deal with close-minded people – please let me know :(…I deal with it everyday – and it is physically and emotionally draining…the hardest part is that you can say what you want to the other person – but they just don’t get it or don’t want to…then what do you do?? and if I ignore them or do my own thing – they keep coming back and won’t leave me alone. it’s something i’ve talked about on my blog anyways…
    take care hon, thanks for the story – i feel your pain of having to explain yourself.

  27. Low says:

    Thanks for the story girl! I always enjoy learning about other’s beliefs. I look forward to reading about your Hannukkah traditions and eats!

  28. liveloveeatandplay says:

    You are so right about this, thank you for posting it. I grew up in a town much like yours, moved to the Boston area and went to Brandeis, then lived in Brookline and Newton. I was always surrounded by Judaism, and now that I live in PA, it’s such a culture shock. We are the only people our age who are Jewish and it’s so weird to have been part of a community for so long to being a minority. When I tell some people here I don’t celebrate Christmas they look at me like I have 10 heads. It’s the HOLIDAY season, not Christmas time!

  29. lizzy says:

    Girl i love this post! I would have never known that you were Jewish, but i’m so glad that i got to learn something new about you today! i think thats awesome!! A good friend of mine that i met in my first year of college is Jewish, and at the time he was the first jewish person that i met that actually celebrated traditional Jewish holiday’s so it was fun to get to know the culture. I love learning new things like that about people, cause your right, everyone is different and celebrate different things.!!!!!!

    and ps. LOVE that zebra bowl. where did you get it?

  30. RunToTheFinish says:

    I have to admit I didn’t know anyone jewish in KC and thought that was really weird. I watched shows and read books with Jewish families and honestly it all sounded so very cool to me!

    Haven’t tried that barbara’s yet, but i also haven’t met a cereal i didn’t like

  31. Dawn (HealthySDLiving) says:

    My Dad is Catholic, my mom was Jewish, so I grew up celebrating both. BUT I did live in an area where I didn’t know many Jewish kids, so nobody really understood that part of my holiday! But all of the friends I grew up with would come over to our house with their families to light the Menorah every year and now it’s a part of them as well and they still love to celebrate with us! 🙂

  32. Chelsea (Chelsea's Chew and Run Fun) says:

    Boy did I love this post. I live in New York City, so needless to say, on my apartment floor alone there are plenty of Mezzuzahs in people’s doorways. One of the best things I’ve ever seen was at the tree lighting celebration at Lincolm Center. Someone was playing “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” on the fiddle and a fully costumed Santa joined in the lively Hora. That moment was such a great testament to the diversity that exists in NYC. Happy Hanukkah to you, Miss Naomi!

    Your eats for the day look delicious as well!

  33. lisaou11 says:

    loved this post! I had never thought about it that way. I do love reading your posts about your religion and what you celebrate. I find it very interesting!

  34. greensandjeans says:

    My best friend from home is Jewish and we grew up celebrating Hanukkah with his family and Christmas with mine! I’ve always been amazed how much our American culture ignores the Jewish faith during the holiday season!

  35. peanutbutterfingers says:

    hey sorry to come back & double comment, but i just had to! this post actually made me think twice about my post this morning. instead of asking readers what their fav. christmas cookies are, i changed it to holiday cookies. everyone loves cookies around the holidays, not just those who celebrate christmas. 🙂

  36. Katie ♥ says:

    I hope you have a wonderful Hanukkah!!! I understand what you go through, my best friend is Jewish and goes through the same!!! I adore your blog : ) you are a wonderful person and down to earth, I can tell this by reading all your posts!!! It is great to feel like you know someone by reading their blog, and getting to know so many great people through it!!!

    I love that cereal by the way, it rocks!! They have another flavor too!! Have a great weekend!!!!!

  37. Mari says:

    I think your roommate lived in a bubble…how on earth are you the first jewish person she ever met lol.

    I live in NY and I am surrounded by so many religions. I remember going to my bestfriend’s house in high school for Jewish holidays and scarfing down Motzah Ball Soup…

    I know what you mean about the little shelves dedicated to Hanukkah; I think retail stores need to make more of an effort.

    Happy Hanukkah Honey! I know I am a week early lol

  39. Missy says:

    Thank you for sharing this! I experienced so much of what you said too. I went to school in Maryland and my best friend never met a Jew before. I taught her so much about the religion. It is frustrating to see huge walls of Christmas decorations in a store and only one tiny spot for Chanukah!

  40. Lo says:

    Sometimes as a Christmas celebrator, I forget about those who dont celebrate it! America gets caught up in the Santa frenzy when we really should be using this time to celebrate having friends, health and family 🙂 thanks for sharing this and opening my eyes a bit! I really wish I knew more about Hanukkah!

    xoxo
    lO

  41. chrystad72 says:

    Loved this post!! Thanks so much for sharing that. How awesome that you had the chance to be raised in such an amazing community! Its also really great that you really helped to educate your roommate about it. I find all the different religions and cultures so interesting. I was raised Christian in my immediate family but my grandmother was Jewish so I learned a lot about both religions which was so fascinating! Loved it! So we had a little of each in our household=)

    I think that there is always going to be close minded people. And I just figure if they don’t take the time to expand their horizons then their loss!=) I don’t worry about it too much.

    Btw, love the zebra bowl!!! How cool! Love the eats for today too. The fiber cereal looks awesome. Boy do I love fiber cereal! Ha! I have no idea why but i have to eat some everyday. I’ll be on the look out for this!
    I haven’t tried the Lavash wraps yet. How are they? Ive been hearing a lot about them and haven’t tried them yet.

    Have a great time getting you manicure! I love doing that. Its nice to be pampered once in awhile=)

    You rock girl!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day!

  42. MelissaNibbles says:

    Beautiful post Naomi. Thank you for sharing your experience. I think our country can be very ignorant to the fact that there are other religions besides Christian and rather untolerant. I have quite a few friends that are Muslim and experience some of the same things you mentioned here.
    I’m looking forward to reading about your families traditions!

  43. Living and Loving in L.A. says:

    I love this post!!!
    When I was growing up, we celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah. Now, my boyfriend is Jewish too (just like my step-dad) so I still get to celebrate both holidays even though I don’t live at home anymore.
    I think it’s very important to keep an open mind this time of year (actually it’s important ALL year).
    You are so sweet to post your experiences with the holidays.

  44. Janetha says:

    thanks for sharing this naomi! i must admit i don’t know much about hanukkah and it is cool to hear about your traditions. i live in a VERY close minded place. utah’s majority is mormon. i was raised that way but am not anymore!

  45. Cara says:

    I am right there with you, always trying to teach people that not everyone celebrates Christmas and trying to be tolerant of those that don’t understand. Also I try to remind myself that someone saying “merry Christmas” to me doesn’t make me any less Jewish and that they probably only have good intentions of wishing me well, know what I mean? But I still always feel a little awkward every time it happens, even after 26 years.

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