I'm an American, born in the U.S.A. so all the hoopla surrounding Hag haMolad - and its springtime counterpart - is well known to me.
But I never realized that Hag haMolad was a NATIONAL holiday.
I know it's celebrated by the "rov" - the majority of people in America - citizens or not.
But it is a RELIGIOUS holiday.
Perhaps I'm deceiving myself, maybe for most folks in the U.S. the religion has been taken out of Hag haMolad; forget Bet Lekham and Natzeret and salute Wall Street and Main Street. In my neighborhood I see lots of snowmen and trees and even an inflatable monkey - now what does an inflatable monkey have to do with Hag haMolad??
Two things aggrieve me.
Thing One: Having the governments recognize Hag haMolad as an official holiday blurs the line between religion and state. It suggests that the state (in broad terms) is a tool of the people who celebrate a religious Hag haMolad.
Thing Two: If my non-Jewish neighbors now get the day off for what was, and should remain, a "religious" holiday, why do I have to sacrifice my vacation time for Jewish holy days - and remember, here in "hul" I have to give up two days for the beginning of Pesach and Sukot and two days at the end of Pesach and Sukot. Plus Shavuot. Let's not forget two days for Rosh HaShanna and another for Yom Kippur.
The Fourth of July is a NATIONAL holiday. Ditto Veteran's/Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Presidents' Day (which I liked better then Washington and Lincoln has individual days). Thanksgiving is a "national" holiday, albeit with a "hint" of a religious connection; to whom are we giving thanks? HaShem, the farmer or local Publix or Safeway supermarket, or perhaps the Founding Fathers who had the good sense to prohibit a state religion. Maybe "all of the above."
Halloween is not a national holiday, and it reeks of religion for those who have any concept of their claimed beliefs. Likewise New Year's Eve/Day which Jews should realize is "Yom haBrit" - you do the math.
We are "blessed" with a number of truly national holidays that are free of any specific religious overtones.
I'm not trying to fight the commercialism. I had a friend who owned a jewelry store in Orlando FL. He hold me that if he didn't make it between Thanksgiving and the Hag haMolad his year was a financial disappointment (if not minor disaster). Lots of businesses are in the same situation, regardless of their size.
If a merchant wants to put a Santa Claus or even an inflatable monkey in the store's window, well and good. Even a manger scene is OK (but I doubt I'll see one in front of a Motel 6 or Holiday Inn).
But to make Hag haMolad - or any other religious holiday, even Yom Kippur - a "national holiday" is a bit much, and yes, Virginia, Yom Kippur in my neck of the woods is a day when many public schools are closed but the mail is delivered, the banks are open, and government offices, perhaps with less than a full complement of personnel, are open.
Call me a grinch if you wish, but I will insist to the end that Hag haMolad is NOT, and never should be, a NATIONAL holiday. If its celebrants want to take the day off - sans pay - by all means that's their privilege.
הריני מקבל עלי מצוה עשה של ואהבת לרעך כמוך, והריני אוהב כל אחד מבני ישראל כנפשי ומאודי
