Santa

How come Hanukkah isn't over-commercalized like Christmas?

It isn't even Thanksgiving yet, and kids are still eating Halloween candy, but all that Christmas garbage is out at the stores, and carols are being played. But why do you never see as much Hanukkah related products and decorations as you do Christmas stuff? Like fancy menorahs and decorative items for the whole week, etc.

Public Comments

1. I think it's simply because there are more people who celebrate Christmas than the other religions' holidays. They say they put everything out so early because of the large amount of people who like to get their shopping done early. They want to give people that choice.. They don't want to miss an opportunity to make more money.
2. cuz alot of people think christmas is fun. plus christians have a "santaclaus" That is forced to buy toys to good kids. (if you dont buy somthing for your son/daughter, he/she might think she's naughty) and jewish peple dont. plus jewish writers are the ones that write all this christmas stuff for tv. they just wanna make money,
3. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Christmas is a holiday where people exchange gift - so fiscally the stores have a reason to commercialize it. They want people to come spend their money with them. Also a lot of the tradition of Christmas now a days has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, so that part of the holiday got really commercialized. Hanukkah is still a religious holiday that never really centered around gift giving. But don't give up hope, the retail industry has been trying to do exactly the same thing to Hanukkah.
4. Well, there aren't that many Jews around like there used to be. Adolph Hitler and the Natzi's killed too many of them in World War 2. Now because there aren't as many Jews, there aren't as many decorations and CD's and holiday stuff for Hanukkah as there are for Christmas, plainly beacuse there aren't as many Jews as there are Catholics and Christians.
5. Only about 2% of the adults in the U.S. are Jewish; stores would much rather market to the 74% who consider themselves Christians and who celebrate Christmas.
6. I do think that Hanukkah is getting much more focus than its place in the hierarchy of Jewish holidays. Hanukkah is the least religious holidays of them all since its not from the Torah or from the Bible. But since its close to Christmas - it got so much more emphasis, here in America compare to the emphasis on it in Israel, for example. Of course that compare to Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine - that are very commercialized holidays - Hanukkah doesn't even come close, and that is because of the % of the Jews population in America.
7. because Channuka is a holiday, not about over over-commercializing the holiday, but about celebrating freedom and family and the lights.... not about the ra-ra stuff
8. Because Judaism is one of the smallest religions in the world. Even though we live in a Christian-Judaio society Hanukkah isn't commercialized. Also Hanukkah isn't about the presents, it has transformed into a gift giving holiday over the years