Aside from being the time for peace on earth and good will toward men, the holiday season is most concretely defined by the celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah and the new year. While honoring these cornerstones appears to satisfy the Christian, Jewish and secular members of the American population, one group, which is especially large at Brandeis, is often unaccounted for. Many Russian Jews are in the peculiar situation of celebrating the new year as a secular version of Christmas, while Hanukkah often occupies a less important role during December's merry making. The social ramification of such an arrangement often leads to sense of alienation from the American Jewish community, which challenges the continuation of the Russian New Year's tradition. After the communist regime banned the celebration of Christmas in 1917, the traditions of the holiday were secularized and revived as New Year. It became the most prominent Russian holiday complete with a "Christmas" tree, Santa Claus (known as "father frost") and of course, presents. Because, as Professor Antony Polonsky (NEJS) pointed out, many "American Jews don't see the complexity of the Jewish identity of those who have emigrated from the former Soviet Union," these secular symbols of the Russian New Year are seen as Christian traditions by American neighbors.

"The controversy over the 'Christmas' tree has sparked some acrimonious debates in my classes over the years," Professor ChaeRan Freeze (NEJS) said. He noted that in America, "the most concrete way to distinguish your home and family as 'Jewish' is the absence of a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. Irene Berlinsky '06 said her family put up a tree for the first couple of years after coming to America but eventually "it just seemed wrong because in America its a Christian tradition."

Professor Jacob Cohen (AMST), whose wife is Russian, said he used to attend New Year's parties where the host dressed up like Santa and distributed gifts. "But," Cohen said, "many Russians who are 'Jews,' if only nominally, sense that American Jews get jumpy a this sort of celebration and in my own house it would be out of the question."

But, Anna Rakhman '06 said that while her family is "100 percent" Jewish, after more that seven years of living in America, "New Year is the biggest holiday in my family. We have the tree, presents, Santa, the works." Veronica Peschansky '06 said her family also maintained the tradition, pointing out that the accessibility of Christmas decorations after Dec. 25 makes it even easier.

While for Russian Jews, Americanization implies a weakening of the traditional Russian celebration of the New Year, in Israel, the opposite trend has taken place, Freeze said. "In order to identify themselves as 'Russian' (in a Jewish majority), Russian Jews have fought hard to keep (their New Year's traditions), despite the major opposition from the general public, especially religious leaders."

According to Professor Jonathan Sarna (NEJS) "Russian Jews who become Americanized will (probably) abandon their "Christmas - like" activities and take up Hanukkah instead. Yana Urman '05 said she didn't celebrate Hanukkah in Russia and slowly adopted the holiday when she emigrated. Still, "New Year is still the biggest holiday in (her) family." Likewise, Peschansky said that while her family lights Hanukkah candles, "in no way does it take the place of New Year," as the season's major holiday.

According to Freeze, Russian immigrants who wanted to Americanize, particularly those who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s, "do not necessarily celebrate Hanukkah in place of (New Year) but nonetheless refuse to put up a 'Christmas' tree. Those who do celebrate Hanukkah are often very connected to the Jewish community, even if they are not religious."

The subsequent question of whether a Jew can be religious and still celebrate New Year as a hybrid of Christmas elicited mostly affirmative responses from Russian Jews in Brandeis. "I see nothing wrong with the secularized celebration of Christmas which has developed among this group," Polonsky said. For Urman, "(Russian Jews) grew up with different traditions, so having a New Year's tree brings back memories. (My family and I) don't consider it wrong to have a New Year's tree because for us it's like a Hanukkah tree with presents under it." Berlinsky also said she sees nothing wrong with this "personal tradition" as long as you still see the tree as secular.