Ladies and Gentlemen, it's official, we're now in the Christmas season. Not only did Black Friday come in a scary, man killing way, but today is the first Sunday of Advent. I was thinking about getting an advent calendar this year (which is a Lutheran tradition -- who knew?), but I had a sneaky suspicion that I would pop open all the doors and eat all the candies in one sitting like I did when I was kid. Greed is a deadly sin, you know, and there's no use imperiling my mortal soul over some second rate candy so I decided against it. Anyway, when I was looking for an Advent calendar, I stumbled upon the Advent wreaths. And I was reminded of my Catholic school days when we used to make these out of fir tree detritus, green construction paper, birthday candles, and goopy glue, which -- in hindsight -- sounds like a fire hazard. Also, can I make the comment that the Advent wreath reminds me of a Menorah? Do you ever get the feeling that the Catholics smuggled out more than just the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments when they snuck out the back door of the synagogue?
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On the first day of school for a Jewish child, the rabbi writes the first letter of the alphabet- Alef- with honey on a plate. The child reads the letter and then traces the honey with his finger and gets to lick it off. Then the rabbi does it again with the next letter, Bet, and continues on through the entire alefbet until the child has tasted the sweetness of honey in all the letters.
Jewish learning/teaching theory depends heavily on bribes. If giving the kid candy will give him incentive to learn, then by all means, give him candy. Lots and lots of candy.
So yeah the advent calendar with treats and prizes has much in common with Jewish traditions and teaching methods.
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