Please forgive me if I've spelled this wrong. I am mashugna!

I would like my Jewish sisters to tell me all about their beautiful hoilday.

Did it ever offend you or make you feel bad in school to be surrounded with the Christmas hoilday?

My Jewish friends never complained. My male friend Steve said he believed in Jesus but only that He was a holy man and not the way I believe in Him. I was okay with that. My religion taught me that mine was the "only one true religion." I think I was ahead of my time because I never bought that even as a child. I believed and still do that God is God for everyone and each religion can be the true religion for that person. My religion as a Roman Catholic is not better than anyone elses. Catholism sprung from Judaism. This is a fact I learned in Advanced Theology in a Catholic high school.

My daughter came home from PSR classes and said the lady there told her Jewish people don't believe in God. I was outraged and wanted to call the school to make sure this woman never uttered those false words again. Since I didn't hear her say those words myself I didn't call but I did tell my daughter the lady was so very wrong. My daughter said, "but mom, only our religion is the true one." Again, I told her no, this isn't true. God is God for everyone. Each religion calls Him a different name but He is still God to us all.

Again forgive my incorrect spelling from your shicksa sister, Lakheim!

Ladybug, my grade school in NYC was 95% Jewish, so Christmas was a non-issue. School was closed for Jewish holidays, and the Italian kids celebrated Christmas at home and in church. Religion didn't enter into any school activities, as it should not have.

When I moved to mostly Polish/Anglo Chicago in junior high school, all the Christmas stuff was like going to a foreign country and not having a clue as to what the customs were. I did find it very strange that religious songs and activities were being promoted in a so-called secular public school.

You shouldn't call yourself a shiksa. While the term may be technically correct, it's never used with affection.

L'Chaim (means: To Life)

I never felt left out at Christmas time. Some of the other Jewish kids did, but I guess I didn't understand why then. My kids never felt left out,either, but by then they were celebrating all the holidays in school. At least in our school district, only secular songs are sung.

Unfortunately for the world, many religions bill themselves as "the one true religion". I know some Jews who have been guilty of that. Intolarance by any name has always made me sad and angry. Nobody has a right to pass judgement on anyone else's religious beliefs or practices. I wish I could say everyone else believed that.

I have so many beloved Jewish friends. One is a Holocaust survivor as well. They taught me so many things about their faith which is why I take offense to anyone saying anything negative.

Meredith thanks for setting me straight on the term shicksa. I do know what L'Chaim meant and means so at least I was okay on that one eh?

In those days I guess no one paid attention to separation of church and state. Are they today for that matter?

Being raised in a mostly Jewish neighborhood with many Holocause survivors, we were all too aware of the issue of what happens when church isn't separated from state. That's why my school didn't celebrate Jewish holidays either. We believe that in a truly free society, we should all be able to celebrate (or not) with family, friends, and in our religious places of worship, but that to introduce religion into so-called secular institutions makes tham no longer secular.

Meredith, this is so true.

It took me two and a half years of begging to the principal at my children's Catholic grade school to have my Holocaust survivor friend come and give a talk. I felt so ashamed whenever Max would ask me about coming to speak to the children. I could only tell him the truth.

I was so pleased to finally have him and his seeing-eye dog, Calvin come and tell his story to the children. It was something they needed to hear and learn about.

Believe it or not, my mother was outraged when she found out we were teaching our children about the Holocost in our temple's religious school. She insisted they didn't have to know about that, and I told her firmly that they must never forget.

It seems like many American Jews of her generation have guilt feelings about what happened becaus they were over here and had family in Europe who died. Her attitude never made sense to me.

I firmly believe it is a subject that should be taught in school. We learned about slavery so why not the Holocaust?

I'm proud to say that out of all those children in my kids' school, they were the only two with extensive knowledge about the Holocaust. Shamefully, many children had never even heard of it. My children watched all the PBS specials and while we were in Washington D.C. we visited the Holocaust museum.

Never again.

Jackie you are correct the American Jews do feel guilt about what happen . This is what was told to me from our jewish friends.

The jewish people that were in the holocost do not want to talk about being in the prison camps . You can't blame them. This was horrible and must never be forgotten, Jackie . Jewish People don't believe that jesus is the savior they only believe in God . There history goes back clear to Abraham . this is what my jewish friend told me . I lived with jewish neighbors and they were very kind to me

I am a lost for words on this one.

<small>[ December 13, 2005, 10:45 PM: Message edited by: Nancy50 ]</small>

It's sad but there are still alot of adults that will look you right in the face and tell you it never happened at all. That blows my mind but shows you how stubborn and apparently stupid some people can be...like I said, mind blowing!