{"product_id":"christmas-in-yiddish-tradition-the-untold-story","title":"Christmas in Yiddish Tradition: The Untold Story","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy Jordan Chad\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNYU Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished in 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e240 pages, 9 x 6 in\u003cbr\u003eHardcover\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"mobile-about-the-book\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"slot product-about 9780394536460 isbn-related seemoreenable show opened\" id=\"seemore-0\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis book seeks to answer a perplexing question: Why were Christmas traditions once transmitted in Yiddish, a language exclusive to non-Christians? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBack in Europe, Yiddish-speaking Jews traditionally let loose on Christmas Eve with feasting, drinking, dancing, and gambling. Scholars have previously assumed this Christmas Eve vacation from Torah study to have been some sort of antagonistic counterculture to Christians celebrating Christmas. But \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eChristmas in Yiddish Tradition \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003ereveals that the Christmas traditions transmitted in Yiddish were very similar to those transmitted in other European languages. Drawing on a wealth of documents, Jordan Chad argues that rather than European Jews being antagonistic towards Christmas, their Christmas Eve celebrations were exactly what they looked like: Jews celebrating Christmas. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe volume offers the surprising argument that while Jews never celebrated the birth of Jesus, Christmas did not actually become the strictly Christian holiday that it is today until the period when Jews migrated to the New World. Prior to that time, Jewish midwinter traditions developed as variants of midwinter traditions that were widespread across neighboring European communities. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eChristmas in Yiddish Tradition \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003erecounts how Jews and Christians over the past millennium each awaited supernatural visits from diverse versions of Santa Claus. They only came to fully Christianize their concept of midwinter in modern times, at which point the place of \"Christmas\" in the Jewish collective memory evolved from the year's jolliest vacation to its most dangerous disturbance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe volume uncovers the story of how Christmas once flourished in a language exclusive to non-Christians—and how modern Jews and Christians ultimately came to forget about the time when they celebrated Christmas in tandem.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"overview\"\u003e\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease note this book has limited availability.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eItems ship in 3-5 business days.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YIVO Institute for Jewish Research","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47530952196314,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0648\/4587\/3370\/files\/ChristmasinYiddishTradition.jpg?v=1769201280","url":"https:\/\/yivo-institute.myshopify.com\/products\/christmas-in-yiddish-tradition-the-untold-story","provider":"YIVO Institute for Jewish Research","version":"1.0","type":"link"}