A friend of mine who works for a collectibles company sent me an e-mail last week with a curious query. The company is considering developing a a new line: Chanukah ornaments. These could be placed either on a “Chanukah Bush”, Christmas tree, or a small miniature metal ornament tree (next to the menorah, probably).
Would I (or anyone on this list serve) be offended? I wondered how a group of Jewish teens would react.
I thought they’d have a lengthy discussion about values, lifestyle choices, religious symbolism. The conversation was over faster than you can say “December Dilemma.” I was ready to bring on the choices: A Star of David? Hamsa? Dreidel? No one was interested and told me they found the idea offensive.
They thought that Christmas and Chanukah were already over commercialized, so why add to the array of ‘stuff’? By the way, some of the teens who were the most outspoken came from intermarried families.
Not that I have an interest in the success of collectibles, but I proceeded to ask them what they thought about re-purposing the items…what if they would hang them from a car mirror? Locker hook? Nope. Okay, so I just wanted to make sure.
They wouldn’t buy it. So, what do you think?
Do you agree with these outspoken teens who desire a get-back-to-basics approach?
Lest you think they are against paraphernalia, don’t kid yourself. They are totally ‘gadgeted out’, it’s just that it seems they have their limits. How would you respond to this question? Would this work for your family?
Image via wikipedia