Jews who observe Christmas so that their children “might not feel cheated of the holiday spirit,” were taken to task by Rabbi William Rosenblum in a sermon preached at Temple Israel Saturday morning. Christmas is a strictly Christian religious event, the rabbi pointed out, and those Jews who place trees in their homes are, in fact, he emphasized, “bending to popular and profane uses of a sacred festival that has grown to stand for the birth of Christianity.”
Christmas can only be nationalized, Rabbi Rosenblum added, if the star of Bethlehem were to be removed from the tree, and Santa Clause may be made undenominational, but not the founder of Christianity.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
