Jordan Chad, Christmas in Yiddish Tradition
When and Where
Speakers
Description
Roz and Ralph Halbert Lecture
Jordan Chad (University of Toronto)
“Christmas in Yiddish Tradition”
Back in Europe, Yiddish-speaking Jews traditionally let loose on Christmas Eve with feasting, drinking, dancing, and gambling. Scholars have previously assumed that this Christmas Eve vacation from Torah study was some sort of antagonistic counterculture to Christians celebrating Christmas. Jordan Chad's recent book Christmas in Yiddish Tradition: The Untold Story (NYU Press, 2025) argues that while Jews never celebrated the birth of Jesus, their Christmas Eve celebrations were essentially what they looked like: Jews celebrating Christmas.
Featuring a performance by Sam Broverman and Peter Hill.
The book will be for sale for $50.95. Only card payments accepted, including debit, Visa, and Mastercard.
Jordan Chad is a multidisciplinary researcher who has published on various academic topics, ranging from neuroimaging physics and brain development to Jewish intellectual attainment and Yiddish popularizations of physics.