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Back in the day, Yiddish-speaking Jews had themselves a merry ‘nitl’ Christmas

JL;DR SUMMARY Andrew Silow-Carroll explores Jordan Chad's analysis of how Yiddish-speaking Jews historically engaged with Christmas Eve—a tradition often misconstrued. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish TraditionsJewish HistoryYiddishEastern EuropeChristmasFolkloreCultural AdaptationNitlJordan Chad

Places mentioned

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"A multidisciplinary researcher affiliated with the University of Torontos Centre for Jewish Studies, Chad offers up the untold story of how Yiddish-speaking Jews celebrated Christmas not as the birth of the baby Jesus, heaven forbid."
New York, United States
"If you dont find me eating Chinese food and watching a movie, I might be catching Gotham Comedy Clubs A Very Jewish Christmas! show or comedian Joel Chasnoffs Christmas for the Jews."

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Cairo Item ID 70359
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Retrieved 2025-12-14 18:00:35 UTC
Curated 2025-12-14 19:00:29 UTC