We didn’t celebrate Christmas in our house. Despite my pleas, there was no tree in our parlor– an electric menorah flickered in the window instead. Would Christmas have exerted such a powerful pull, elicited such intense yearning, if we indeed had a plastic sleigh on the roof of our split level? I would guess not.
In any case, I am not alone in this longing. You may not know this, but virtually every Christmas song, from White Christmas to Santa Baby to Silver Bells to Rudolf to those infernal chestnuts forever roasting was written by a Jewish person. Maybe having your nose pressed against the frosty glass is what makes many of these lyrics so poignant.
Because this is a jewelry column, we do have a little seasonal jewelry reminiscence to share, in the form of a cheesy Santa brooch with a dangling jingle bell that, when pulled, lit up the fat man’s red nose. I was actually permitted to pin this beloved item to my coat. (No one could be more annoying and more beseeching than an eight-year-old Lynnie.)
Of course, my taste in jewelry has become far more sophisticated since then. And I have expanded the category of holiday jewelry to include such ecumenical subjects as snowflake earrings and reindeer brooches. (Because who knows where these mammals worship when their December 25th tasks are done?) And there are also glittering star-studded necklaces and rings. Those celestial bodies glimmer no matter how dark the night sky may seem, lighting our way out of the abyss in these tough times.
