My in-laws have delved more into religion as they've gotten older. I mean, they used to have a Christmas tree back when their kids were young (with visits from Hanukkah Hank), and Lewis was the only one of his siblings who had a bar/bat mitzvah and he's as secular as they get, overall. We often joke how funny it is that the nice, lapsed Catholic girl he married spent a semester of school in Israel while the nice lapsed Jewish boy I married has visited the Vatican.
Since we live in the same city as Lewis' parents, our kids get exposure to their Jewish side that way, with lighting the menorah and Friday night dinners and Seder while overall, we approach the Christian holidays from a secular bent. I suppose one of these days I'll take them to a Midnight Mass if they express any interest. I just want them to be good kids and be tolerant of everyone around them, more than adhere to any one particular religious ideology.
Our neighborhood was so white-bread Catholic/traditional Protestant that the "exotic" religious people were the Mormons who lived down the block. The few Jewish kids (mostly boys, now that I think about it) in school stood out when they had their bar mitzvahs and all of their (Catholic/Protestant) friends who attended the celebration would wear the yamalke they got to school the following Monday.
Mike Rowe was on Sesame Street this morning! It made me happy, anyway.
I also wonder why Emmett wants/needs a tux.
mr. flea has finally gone out to Christmas shop for me. As long as it's not perfume (which I don't wear)...
Trudy, she did blog it - apparently you are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke after a big meal, so you should never eat a big meal. @@
Our neighborhood was so white-bread Catholic/traditional Protestant that the "exotic" religious people were the Mormons who lived down the block.
We didn't have any Jews living in my home town that I knew of. (No African-Americans either.) Since I went to a private Protestant school, for us the "exotic" religious people were the Catholics. Confession seemed the weirdest thing to me. (My dad has an anti-Catholic bias that affected me as well.)
I also wonder why Emmett wants/needs a tux.
I just assumed it was that Emmett + tux = Awesome!
Why does Emmett need a tux?
He doesn't need one, but he loves to dress up. He loved the tux he got for our wedding, wore it to pieces, and has recently been falling in love with the entire James Bond mythos. He longs for the brooding and elegance and adventure and attitude, and so he wants a tux. And, based on past Emmett experience, I have no doubt that once he gets it he will find, or make, a reason to wear it.
(My dad has an anti-Catholic bias that affected me as well.)
The whole concept of this still amazes me, from a Jewish standpoint, I guess. You're all Jesus people! It's the same thing! I mean, I understand there are differences in what you all believe about Jesus and how you worship, but still! With the Jesus! And the Easter! And the boogedy boogedy back from the dead nyah nyah Romans! You have so much in common! Like ham!
FCM:
The Ghost of Christmas Past
The Ghost of Christmas Present
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
FCM:
...
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
There's a joke in here somewhere....
Oh! And if Megan is about, I need to know how to say, "I have a terrible crush on you. You're ridiculously sexy. You should move to the US and work at Caltech so I can do filthy things to you. I mean, not to be creepy or anything" in French.
