It's a New Year's Tree

And it's legit.

"Jordan, you're Jewish, you can't have a tree." First of all, I could if I wanted to. Lots of of American Jews have a Hanukah bush now. "But that's a bastardization of the whole concept of Hanukah." Really? So is giving presents. In Israel they celebrate the "Festival of Lights," but it doesn't look like Christmas.

But Yelena and I don't have a Hanukah bush. We have a New Year's Tree. It's a Russian tradition. In zee old kontry, when the Communists decided to outlaw religion, they told people they could keep the Christmas tree, only they weren't allowed to call it a Christmas tree, it was a New Year's tree, and it was for the New Year, not Christmas.

The idea of appropriating someone else's religious tradition isn't a new concept; that's what the Christians did to get the tree in the first place. They appropriated the pagan winter festival in order to win over pagan converts during the aptly-named Dark Ages. If the Christians could do it, the Russians could do it.

And it's not like the Jews haven't done exactly the same thing. Passover is a combination of two ancient pagan holidays, one celebrating the planting of the crops, and one celebrating the birth of livestock. Ancient farmer and shephard traditions were combined into one holiday, which was given new meaning.

Yelena's family always used to have a New Years Tree in Russia. When they came here, someone told them, "Jews can't have a tree." They were worried they'd offend their Jewish American friends, so for many years they didn't have a tree at all.  11-year-old Yelena was upset by this, so her parents bought the poor girl a branch and let her decorate that.  A fake branch.

Now they have a pretty fiber-optic tree that glows different colors.  But Yelena wants a New Years Tree of her own, and I am happy to oblige.   The truth is it's a wonderful tradition, and I love that I now have an excuse to do it!

If you look closely, you'll notice our friend Julia Hastings gave us two ornaments to hang.  The beginning of a collection that will grow in years to come.