#nittel nacht

[magnetothemagnificent]

Howdy! Conversion student here. I was inspired by your posts to look up Nittel Nacht since I had not heard about it before, and I was curious to know how commonly it's observed in your experience. Has it always been part of your practice? Love your blog!

Nittel Nacht is a term given to Christmas Eve dating back to at least the 17th century in Eastern Europe. Jews who observe Nittel Nacht refrain from studying Torah and stay at home, instead playing board games like chess. There are both mystical and practical reasons for this:

-Learning Torah is said to elevate the spirit of the deceased. Because Christmas celebrates Jesus, we do not want to elevate his spirit with our Torah learning.

-Christmas Eve, and any Christian holiday, has historically been a time of increased antisemitic violence. It was safer for Jews to be at home with their family than at the Beit Midrash being visibly Jewish.

Today, Nittel Nacht is mainly only observed by Chassidic communities, as Chassidic communities tend to hold on to more traditional practices and because the Baal Shem Tov encouraged observance of Nittel Nacht.

I grew up in a Chassidic family, and thus grew up observing Nittel Nacht. I still observe it because I believe it is important for us to never forget the pain and terror associated with Christmas and our endurance as a people.

[anonymousdandelion]

Just thinking about how tonight, on Nittel Nacht of all nights, I lit a menorah in full view of any passersby in the street, and the chances of someone so much as throwing a rock through my window — let alone something worse — were still quite low.

Antisemitism is on the rise, and things are scary and sad and looking to get worse before they get better again. I know. Trust me, I know.

But still.

I lit a menorah on Nittel Nacht, and walked freely down the block to a neighbor's house afterwards, and came back home safe and sound to see the lights burning calmly in my unbroken window.

[sopranoentravesti]

I try to be a good sport around this time of year, I really do, I get that this holiday is a big deal for y’all and it means seeing your family etc. I hope you do have a merry one.

But honestly, for me Xmas always brings up Nittel Nacht. We would stay indoors to avoid the Beit Midrash, and hopefully the violence that so frequently would be inflicted on us by Xtians who believed we were Christ-killers (a common problem around Xmas and Easter).

Also aside from historical violence,I don’t think in the west, Xtians/ Cultural Xtians get what it’s like to have another religion carelessly shoved in your face on a broad cultural level. Like especially in places that are supposed to be pluralistic democracies.

[homoqueerjewhobbit]

In the Middle Ages in Christendom, Jews were often forbidden from appearing in public during the Christmas holidays, and Christmas Eve frequently marked the beginning of attacks on the Jewish population. Many Jews observed Nittel Nacht as a way to avoid leaving their homes, and to avoid giving the appearance of celebrating the Christian holiday.

Telling Jews that we should embrace Christmas as a secular holiday is antisemitic. These days, fortunately, it's safe for us to go out for Chinese and a movie but Nittel Nacht used to be an occasion for violent attacks on our community.

We don't forget shit.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

Just woke up from the wildest dream where I was part of a dramatic performance at some queer/leftist live art show and conference, where I was part of a chorus of Jews who had a whole act about how people need to stop ignoring antisemitism. The act started out with some younger kids singing sweetly about just wanting to feel safe at their JCCs and schools, and then as each layer of adults started singing, more and more fake blood started getting sprayed on us and the audience. Then everyone except one adult fell silent, and she just basically begged the audience to care about us and our struggle the way we cared about theirs. This was not going over particularly well until some Jewish guy (who was not part of the performance directly, but may have been on sound) ran up, interrupted the performance, pulled the lead aside, and told her that another synagogue shooting had occurred, and it was somewhere he thought she knew people. We all ended up just silently and abruptly walking off stage.

People thought this was part of the performance for a solid ten minutes, until someone finally looked up the news on their phone and realized it was real.

It still took ages to convince a certain handful of attendees that this wasn't somehow arranged.

[captainlordauditor]

Tonight’s menorah, on the usual messy table, and a yartzeit candle for Nittel Nacht.

[starlightomatic]

You mentioned nittel nacht. Do you know about Toilet Jesus

of course

[statecryptids]

It’s Christmas Eve! Watch out for zombie sorcerer goy Jesus!

[maimonidesnutz]

I had heard the words "Nittel Nacht" before, but didn't really know what it was until I saw an infographic on Instagram.

I'm grateful for how rich and expansive the Jewish practice is in that there will ALWAYS be something new to learn

[brookston]

Holidays 12.24

Holidays

Adam and Eve Day (Hungary)

Barahimizong (Sikkim, India)

Calendas (Mexico)

Chil’a (Elder Scrolls)

Christmas Eve (a.k.a. ... 

Aðfangadagskvöld (Iceland)

Apollo 8 Dark Side of the Moon Day

Bonfires on the Levee (Louisiana)

Declaration of Christmas Peace (Turku, Finland)

Drunken Synod's annual beer bash feast

Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Cambridge, England)

Fishmas [Also 1st Day of Trout Season]

Julaften (Norway)

Julafton (Sweden)

Juleaften (Denmark)

Last-Minute Shopper’s Day

Mistletoe Time

Nittel Nacht (Judaism)

Noche Buena (Spain, Latin America)

Quviasukvik (Inuit New Year; Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia)

Remember to Read the Instructions First Night

Silent Night Holy Night (Austria)

Super Saturday [Saturday before Xmas]

Tolling the Devil’s Knell (West Yorkshire, England)

T’owd ‘oss (North Yorkshire, England)

Weihnachten (Austria)

Wigilia (Poland)

Zerowork Season begins

Day of Military Honour — Siege of Ismail (Russia)

Heiligabend (Germany)

Helvetica Day

Jólabókaflóðið (Christmas Book Flood; Iceland)

Modresnach (German, Scandinavian)

National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day

Phonograph Patent Day

Sakewa (Sikkim, India)

Santuranticuy (Peru)

Utter Day

Yap Constitution Day (Micronesia)

Yuletide Lad #13 arrives (a.k.a. Aðfangadagskvöld; Kertasnikir or Candle Beggar; Iceland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Chocolate Day

National Egg Nog Day

4th Saturday in December

Super Saturday [Saturday before Christmas]

Independence Days

Libya (from Italy, 1951)

Feast Days

Adam and Eve (Christian; Saint)

Adela and Irmina (Christian; Saint)

Badnja Vece (ceremony where oak branches are blessed with barley)

Dauntless Dragon (Muppetism)

Egg Nog Day (Pastafarian)

Hanukkah Day #6 (Judaism) [thru Dec. 26th]

Harvey (Positivist; Saint)

Kolada begins (Asatru/Pagan/Slavic)

Krishna Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mōdraniht (Anglo-Saxon Pagan)

Orgies for World Peace Day (Pastafarian)

Paola Elisabetta Cerioli (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Spoleto (Christian; Saint)

Sol Invictus (Birth of the Unconquered Sun)

Thrasilla (a.k.a. Trasilla) & Emiliana (Christian; Virgins)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [70 of 71]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1871)

The Aristocats (Animated Disney Film; 1970)

Don’t Look Up (Film; 2021)

The Interview (Film; 2014)

I Think We’re Alone Now, recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells (Song; 1966)

Silent Night, by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr (Xmas Song; 1818)

The Truth About Father Christmas (UK Radio Play; 1922)

Tombstone (Film; 1993)

Today’s Name Days

Adam, Eva (Austria)

Evgeni, Evgeniya (Bulgaria)

Adam, Delfina, Eva, Irmina (Croatia)

Adam, Eva (Czech Republic)

Adam, Alexandrine (Denmark)

Aadam, Eeva, Eevi, Eva, Eve, Eveli, Evelin, Evi, Iivi, Ivi, Ivika, Tammo, Tamur (Estonia)

Aatami, Eeva, Eevi, Eveliina (Finland)

Adèle (France)

Abend, Adam, Eva (Germany)

Ahmet, Evgenia (Greece)

Ádám, Éva (Hungary)

Adele (Italy)

Ādams, Ieva (Latvia)

Adomas, Girstautas, Ieva, Minvydė (Lithuania)

Adam, Eva (Norway)

Ada, Adam, Adamina, Adela, Ewa, Ewelin, Ewelina, Godzisława, Grzegorz, Grzymisława, Hermina, Herminia, Irma, Irmina, Zenobiusz (Poland)

Eugenia (Romania)

Adam, Eva (Slovakia)

Delfín (Spain)

Eva (Sweden)

Eugenia (Ukraine)

Adan, Adana, Adam, Adamina, Addison, Ava, Eva, Eve, Evelyn (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 358 of 2022; 7 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 51 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Secret of the Unhewn Stone [Day 1 of 1]

Chinese: Month 12 (Dōngyuè), Day 2 (Xin-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 30 Kislev 5783

Islamic: 30 Jumada I 1444

J Cal: 28 Zima; Sixday [28 of 30]

Julian: 11 December 2022

Moon: 3%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 22 Bichat (12th Month) [Harvey]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 4 of 90)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 3 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Secret of the Unhewn Stone [Celtic Tree Calendar; 1 Day Outside Months]

[magnetothemagnificent]

Baseline urge to crack open a Gemara in the middle of the night: 1

Urge to crack open a Gemara when it's Nittel Nacht and the one night of the year I *can't*: 100000000000000000000000000

[jew-flexive]

honestly my growing hatred for xmas makes me so sad. not because i ever liked xmas particularly, but because i have xtian family i love very much and growing up i always loved the joy they shared with me about their own holidays and traditions. i used to love hearing my dad’s stories about getting an orange in the toe of his stocking every year. he’d buy me a jar of maraschino cherries on xmas because that’s what his parents used to do. idk i just liked xmas so much as a concept when i was a kid, not because any of it resonated with me but because it resonated with my family, many of whom are very very religious italian catholics. but i’ve just grown so tired of xmas over the years. i hate that i need to get it shoved down my throat before thanksgiving. i hate the horrible pop music i’m forced to listen to every time i go out in public. i hate xmas specials and xmas sales and xmas decoration and how everything suddenly leads back to jesus but no one wants to admit that it does because that way it’s easier to vilify people who just don’t want to participate in “harmless holiday fun!” i have a minor panic attack every time i say “happy holidays” to someone because i’ve gotten yelled at in public at least three times a year for not saying “merry xmas” and i never know when it will happen again. my students are forced to sing songs about santa, create xmas ornaments, and do other xmas activities in school for a grade and when they complain to their teachers they’re bullied, marginalized, and penalized. and all of this is the mild stuff, done by the “progressive” xtians who are convinced they’re being respectful and inclusive by forcing me to engage with their religious practices and traditions because they talk around the fact that xtianity is intrinsically tied to every aspect of xmas instead of being explicit about it. i’m not a scrooge or a grinch because i don’t want to celebrate your holiday. it’s your holiday, after all, and historically a popular date for antisemitic violence (look up nittel nacht if you want to cry). i’m just developing such a hatred for xmas and it makes me so sad because i know this is something that brings my friends and family so much meaning and to me it’s just a reminder that people would just find it so much more convenient if i just didn’t exist.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 12.24

Holidays

Adam and Eve Day (Hungary)

Barahimizong (Sikkim, India)

Calendas (Mexico)

Chil’a (Elder Scrolls)

Christmas Eve (a.k.a. ... 

Aðfangadagskvöld (Iceland)

Apollo 8 Dark Side of the Moon Day

Bonfires on the Levee (Louisiana)

Declaration of Christmas Peace (Turku, Finland)

Drunken Synod's annual beer bash feast

Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Cambridge, England)

Fishmas [Also 1st Day of Trout Season]

Julaften (Norway)

Julafton (Sweden)

Juleaften (Denmark)

Last-Minute Shopper’s Day

Mistletoe Time

Nittel Nacht (Judaism)

Noche Buena (Spain, Latin America)

Quviasukvik (Inuit New Year; Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia)

Remember to Read the Instructions First Night

Silent Night Holy Night (Austria)

Super Saturday [Saturday before Xmas]

Tolling the Devil’s Knell (West Yorkshire, England)

T’owd ‘oss (North Yorkshire, England)

Weihnachten (Austria)

Wigilia (Poland)

Zerowork Season begins

Day of Military Honour — Siege of Ismail (Russia)

Heiligabend (Germany)

Helvetica Day

Jólabókaflóðið (Christmas Book Flood; Iceland)

Modresnach (German, Scandinavian)

National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day

Phonograph Patent Day

Sakewa (Sikkim, India)

Santuranticuy (Peru)

Utter Day

Yap Constitution Day (Micronesia)

Yuletide Lad #13 arrives (a.k.a. Aðfangadagskvöld; Kertasnikir or Candle Beggar; Iceland)

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Chocolate Day

National Egg Nog Day

4th Saturday in December

Super Saturday [Saturday before Christmas]

Independence Days

Libya (from Italy, 1951)

Feast Days

Adam and Eve (Christian; Saint)

Adela and Irmina (Christian; Saint)

Badnja Vece (ceremony where oak branches are blessed with barley)

Dauntless Dragon (Muppetism)

Egg Nog Day (Pastafarian)

Hanukkah Day #6 (Judaism) [thru Dec. 26th]

Harvey (Positivist; Saint)

Kolada begins (Asatru/Pagan/Slavic)

Krishna Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Mōdraniht (Anglo-Saxon Pagan)

Orgies for World Peace Day (Pastafarian)

Paola Elisabetta Cerioli (Christian; Saint)

Gregory of Spoleto (Christian; Saint)

Sol Invictus (Birth of the Unconquered Sun)

Thrasilla (a.k.a. Trasilla) & Emiliana (Christian; Virgins)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lucky Day (Philippines) [70 of 71]

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Aida, by Giuseppe Verdi (Opera; 1871)

The Aristocats (Animated Disney Film; 1970)

Don’t Look Up (Film; 2021)

The Interview (Film; 2014)

I Think We’re Alone Now, recorded by Tommy James & the Shondells (Song; 1966)

Silent Night, by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr (Xmas Song; 1818)

The Truth About Father Christmas (UK Radio Play; 1922)

Tombstone (Film; 1993)

Today’s Name Days

Adam, Eva (Austria)

Evgeni, Evgeniya (Bulgaria)

Adam, Delfina, Eva, Irmina (Croatia)

Adam, Eva (Czech Republic)

Adam, Alexandrine (Denmark)

Aadam, Eeva, Eevi, Eva, Eve, Eveli, Evelin, Evi, Iivi, Ivi, Ivika, Tammo, Tamur (Estonia)

Aatami, Eeva, Eevi, Eveliina (Finland)

Adèle (France)

Abend, Adam, Eva (Germany)

Ahmet, Evgenia (Greece)

Ádám, Éva (Hungary)

Adele (Italy)

Ādams, Ieva (Latvia)

Adomas, Girstautas, Ieva, Minvydė (Lithuania)

Adam, Eva (Norway)

Ada, Adam, Adamina, Adela, Ewa, Ewelin, Ewelina, Godzisława, Grzegorz, Grzymisława, Hermina, Herminia, Irma, Irmina, Zenobiusz (Poland)

Eugenia (Romania)

Adam, Eva (Slovakia)

Delfín (Spain)

Eva (Sweden)

Eugenia (Ukraine)

Adan, Adana, Adam, Adamina, Addison, Ava, Eva, Eve, Evelyn (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 358 of 2022; 7 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 51 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Secret of the Unhewn Stone [Day 1 of 1]

Chinese: Month 12 (Dōngyuè), Day 2 (Xin-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 30 Kislev 5783

Islamic: 30 Jumada I 1444

J Cal: 28 Zima; Sixday [28 of 30]

Julian: 11 December 2022

Moon: 3%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 22 Bichat (12th Month) [Harvey]

Runic Half Month: Jara (Year) [Day 15 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 4 of 90)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 3 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Secret of the Unhewn Stone [Celtic Tree Calendar; 1 Day Outside Months]

[anonymousdandelion]

’tis the season to be mourning and hiding from pogroms

I wonder, sometimes, how many non-Jews have ever heard of Nittel Nacht (the Yiddish name for Christmas Eve: traditionally a day of mourning and avoiding Torah study), or are aware of its history.

Generally speaking, people understand if I feel left out or excluded from something, I think. They somewhat get why I object to being pressured to participate in Christianity-centric celebrations or other activities I don’t want to be part of. I can explain how Christian hegemony and the pervasiveness of all things Christmas at this time of year is aggravating... and while of course not everyone gets it, and some take offense, many do understand and sympathize to one extent or another. Whether or not they feel similarly, on some level my discomfort/annoyance makes sense. Maybe it’s even relatable.

And yes, sure, I do get irritated sometimes. Absolutely. Anyone who’s put up with my annual kvetching about so-called “holiday parties” knows it.

But it’s not just that I don’t want to play Secret Santa, or that I’m tired of being asked about my holiday plans, or that I’d like to hear some different music once in a while. I mean, yes, it’s all of that... but there’s another, heavier, more historical aspect that I feel is often missing or missed. And I never know quite how to get that other dimension across when I have this conversation.

How do I explain I wish you a merry Christmas... fyi this is also a time of intergenerational fear and mourning for me.

How do I explain Your tree is really beautiful... incidentally the fact that I don’t have to huddle at home tonight with the lights out and pray that the mobs will pass me by this time is a freedom I cannot fully take for granted.

How do I explain I hope that you have a wonderful, joyous celebration with your family... btw I don’t know how many of my ancestors were murdered on and/or as a direct result of this holiday but the number is undoubtedly much, much too high.

Mostly, I don’t bother bringing this up or trying to explain it. Partly because it’s difficult and stressful to find the right words and I never know how it will be received, partly because it isn’t usually at the forefront of my mind, partly because I do genuinely want my Christmas-celebrating friends and acquaintances to have a great time, a lovely celebration, and a happy holiday. I don’t need to rain on their festive cheer by making it about me, my personal hangups, my people’s trauma and persecution.

So I keep it to myself, most of the time... and yet. It���s still there, hovering in the background of all the sighs and sarcastic comments and wry smiles.

I don’t even observe Nittel Nacht, personally. Never have. But I find myself thinking about its origins a lot around this time. And sometimes I can’t help but wonder who else, outside of the Jewish community, connects the dots. Or if they see the dots at all.

[daloy-politsey]

Just remembered this old post, but couldn’t actually find it on tumblr, which is a shame because I remember the response being really good.

[31n13]