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HANUKKAH
Continued from Page 9B
asked about Christmas he replied. "Santa Claus is
not real He's kind ol real, but I don't think so."
Notice that Jonathan's ideas about Christmas had to
do with Santa Claus and not with anything religious
Hopelully, when these children enter the Oregon
public school system someone will expose them to
other religions I also hope that someone will teach
them that the true meaning ol Christmas isn't pre
sents and candy canes. Christmas has turned into
almost a non-religious holiday. The commercializa
tion has forced the people to view the holidays as
merely a time lor gilt giving and receiving The chil
dren I talked to are proof ol this. Not once did I hear
anything about religion relating to Christmas.
Every year in grade school my parents taught my
schoolmates how to play dreidal games and sing
songs that celebrated the toy ol Hanukkah. Many of
my close Iriends now tell me that this was one ol the
most memorable events ol their many holiday sea
sons
I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to cel
ebrate Hanukkah. Although my immediate family is
not very religious, we still feel a bond with the Jew
ish culture Every year I hang blue and white deco
rations. stars, dretdals and Happy Hanukkah
banners My parents tell the story ol Hanukkah and
stories ol our Jewish ancestors. I have my own
menorah and I am always in charge ol picking out
the appropriate candles and lighting them. After
igniting them, we sing our customary song ("Ol
Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah
Let's have a party we'll all dance the hora ”) We
keep up this tradition lor the customary eight days.
During high school I was always so busy that as
a family we sometimes had problems finding time
to eat together and talk Sometimes I tett that Taco
Bell knew more about my life than my parents.
Hanukkah brings us together, and I would never
consider missing a single night
Once a season, we have an enormous tamily
gathering Relatives travel trom the tar corners o!
Los Angeles County to spend time together as a
family This is my lavorite part ot the holidays
Each person who attends the party is required to
bring a $5 to $10 gift. Then all the presents are
shoved into the middle of the room and every per
son is given a number. The person with the number
one selects a present and number two can either
steal number one’s gift or choose one of their own.
The game continues until every last person has a
present. Not only do we play this game, but we light
the menorah and eat lots of yummy Jewish food.
I love this night because it makes me feel very
close to the members of my family. I adore seeing
everyone in my clan; from Great Aunt Bess, the
matriarch of the family; to Adina. the cutest little two
year old cousin ever. The family bonds that I feel are
so wonderful that I hope that the people who cele
brate Christmas have the opportunity to experience
the great sense of togetherness with their family that
I do.
My wish this year is that people across America
will realize that Santa Claus wearing a rented red
suit in a shopping mall does not represent the true
spirit ot the holidays. The holiday season should
represent all religions and all cultures.
So please, next time you are in Ihe mall carrying
twenty very full shopping bags and you narrowly
avoid bumping into the fifty foot decorated tree, think
of what you want the holidays to mean to you and
to your children.
Manya Shorr
MOVIE
Continued from Page I IB
soundtrack is reminiscent o( a
broadway musical
In tact, most o( the movie is
sung, rather than spoken, thus
allowing a 20-mmute plot to be
stretched into a little more than an
hour But the at times brooding, at
times spunky music gives the ani
mated characters personality, wit
and charm And best of all, the
tunes are catchy enough to war
rant repeated humming in public.
Disney has had a recent string
ol successes with animated musi
cals The Little Mermaid, Beauty
and the Beast and Aladdin owed
a large part of their success to their
respective soundtracks, and Night
mare, which is released by Touch
stone. Disney's adult division, is
yet another leather in the compa
ny's cap
Burton, who directed Batman
and Edward Scissorhands. obvi
ously has a penchant (or woeful
characters who only want to be
happy and understood Unfortu
nately for Burton, his movies con
tinue to fall short, both in character
development and story line. If this
guy ever gets the knack for sto
rytelling, look out
Nightmare, which is rated PG.
may not be appropriate for younger
children. Many of the characters
are really quite creepy and younger
children may not comprehend the
dark humor of much of the movie.
For example, when three little
ghouls discuss their plans to kid
nap Santa, they sing, "Kidnap the
Sandy Claws/Beat him with a
stick/Lock him up (or 90 years/See
what makes him tick." Along with
suggestions o( putting Santa in a
tx)x and throwing him in the ocean
and cutting him up into little bits, a
young child may be scared tor tile
and require institutionalization.
In all. Nightmare is entertaining
and lun, which is about all you
can ask from a movie these days.
Notwithstanding most people's
hesitancy to pay lull price lor a
movie that only lasts about 85
minutes, Nightmare ought to be
seen in the theater so the lull
magnitude ol the animation and
music can be experienced.
— Martin Fisher
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