Freed from American pressure since September 11th a date that another writer describes as "a Hanukkah miracle" for Israel the Israeli government ploughs its own path.
(My iTunes tells me I have 801 seasonal tunes, not including the Hanukkah ones).
Just inside the post office door are two tables that hold about 70 different stamps, each with a different Christmas-themed design (one bears a menorah and says Happy Hanukkah; when I dip it in green ink and take it for a test drive, the design has the crisp, bold edges of disuse).
Embracing Hanukkah offered a part-solution (as did present-buying and tree-decorating, to stop children feeling left out).
"You are walking along all over the place like typical career politicians promising everything like 'Hanukkah Harry,'" said Mr Emanuel, earning a laugh from the audience.
Enjoy the gifts of chocolate from loved ones on Valentine's Day, Easter, Hanukkah or Christmas.
The festival of lights, Hanukkah, is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, celebrated not long before Christmas.
In Mustang, Oklahoma, the superintendent of schools, fearing a lawsuit, ordered a nativity scene to be cut from a school pageant, while references to Kwanzaa and Hanukkah remained.And so on.
HANUKKAH began last night, and Budapest is celebrating the Jewish festival of lights as never before.
Ran Abramitzky, Liran Einav and Oren Rigbi of Stanford University studied the behaviour of Jewish parents in America and found that families with children under 18 celebrate Hanukkah more intensely.
Traditionally Jews eat oily fried food at Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle; a particular favourite is the latke, a delicious crisp potato cake.The Hanukkah celebrations in Budapest are the latest contribution to the Hungarian capital's ever-more vibrant public Jewish life.
