Almost all my Russian friends here are Jewish, and none of them celebrates Christmas with their family. So every year I host this wonderful party we call "Jewish Christmas". I used to be the only Christian in the room for this merry celebration, but nowadays we extend invitation to all "stray" souls, who find themselves deprived of their family on Christmas for whatever reasons (most of them are doctors on-call). The tradition is to serve Arabic sandwiches from Brooklyn. This is my message of peace to all the world's major religions:).
Faith differences aside, we keep true to the real Christmas spirit. We exchange gifts and even play the "pickle hunt". In the US it is believed to be a German tradition, however, as I just learnt, in Germany nobody seems to have heard of it (read the full story behind the pickle debate here). Whatever the origin, it's a fun little game. You hide a pickle-shaped glass ornament deep in your Christmas tree, and whoever finds it, gets a little present. It's amusing to watch grown people crowded around the tree elbowing each other in their excited attempts to be the first to find this pickle. I like anything that makes us look and feel silly.
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