Song 332: This week on the playlist you can hear On Christmas I Got Nothing by Chuck Brodsky, who also wrote the song. Seven weeks after my last song post by a personal friend, and only three weeks before Christmas, it seemed like the most appropriate time to feature this track by my friend Chuck Brodsky. During HS, I had one Jewish close friend, plus a number of other Jewish classmates, so I had a vague understanding of Jewish holidays and the differences with Christian ones. Of course, even by the time of my growing up in the ‘60s, Christmas had long been as much a secular holiday as a religious one in this country, so I discovered that some Jewish people celebrated Santa day, though evidently Chuck’s family did not. When I first learned about Hanukkah, I heard that it might include giving a single gift each night along with the candle lighting, but my Jewish friends soon let me know that even if they did observe the Jewish holiday — and some didn’t — there was no Christmas-like exchange of gifts, so I understand that Chuck’s lyrics tell the true story of his Jewish December memories. His tune sets a festive tone for the holiday season, and perhaps if it becomes better know at some point over the next few years, Chuck may have the honor of being officially designated as part of Bill O’Reilly’s War On Christmas!
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