OY CHRISTMAS TREE, OY CHRISTMAS TREE
Laurie Gwen Shapiro

“…I’m trying to sound reasonable, because I am afraid in my heart of hearts there is nothing reasonable about my stance, although I am absolute in my conviction: I refuse to have a Christmas tree in my home. I married a goy boy from Australia, but this is my line in the sand. While I am not observant about nearly any aspect of Jewish identity, this is one boundary even I cannot cross.

“Look, what’s the problem with a tree?” Paul tries to reason with me. “What’s so religious about a tree if you don’t have an angel or a cross on it? If you want, Violet can hang a Jewish star on top.”

Violet is our daughter, who at the time of this argument is nearly a year and a half, and clueless that all the fuss in the living room is over her religious upbringing. Her name is a reflection of the two worlds she was born into. In English her name is Violet Frances O’Leary, and in Hebrew, in honor of her great-grandmothers, she is Tziporah Chaia O’Leary. Violet/Tziporah is, at the moment, too absorbed by a Christmas/Hannukah pull toy that just arrived from her Australian grandmother…”

Laurie Gwen Shapiro is the author of three adult novels including The Unexpected Salami, The Matzo Ball Heiress, and The Anglophile, and is a new writer for the young adult market. With her brother David Shapiro, she co-directed and co-produced the IFC documentary Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, recipient of an Independent Spirit Award. With Sergeant Conor McCourt, she co-produced two HBO/Cinemax documentaries about the illustrious McCourts of Limerick. She lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with her husband and daughter. Visit her website at LaurieGwenShapiro.com.