Philly’s Jewish museum celebrates its annual Christmas party for everyone

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You don’t need a Christmas tree to party on the 25th.

The annual “Being ____ at Christmas” party is back at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History. It’s an event for anyone who wants to spend the holiday with community.

Daniel Samuels, director of public programs at the Weitzman, put his heart into planning the party. He emphasizes anyone curious about the event is always welcome at the museum.

“I think that some people hear that the Jewish Museum does a ‘family day’ on December 25 every year, and they go, ‘Okay, this is where the Jewish community of Philadelphia goes on Christmas,’” Samuels said.

While the party used to be called “Being Jewish at Christmas,” the museum has since made it more inclusive. Samuels notes that this event is definitely for Philly’s Jewish community, but it’s also more than that.

“It’s not just for communities who historically do not celebrate Christmas,” he said. “People of all [backgrounds] are not only welcome, but they show up.”

Today, The Weitzman is packed — from bottom to top — with fun and festive happenings. The first floor is screening Eagles highlights and winter-themed movies like “Frozen 2” and “Cool Runnings.” The top floor has music and games (think Jenga, giant connect four and cornhole) and live performances.

“We use every single space available in our building, from the bottom level in our theater all the way up to the fifth floor,” Samuels said. “There’s something going on everywhere, including, as usual, the exhibitions being opened.”

The performances

Different performances are on display throughout the day, including an interactive concert with local children’s musician Lolly Hopwood, a performance from Philly Suns lion dancers, juggling act the Amazing Larry Vee and a drumming session with Middle Eastern percussionist Joe Tayoun.

“I actually grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness, so I did not celebrate Christmas,” Hopwood said.  “So when I was asked to be a part of it, I thought about what it was like for me. You know, having this day that was such a pinnacle for everybody else and in our family, we dressed in pajamas and just kind of hung out and chilled out.”

“We all have different traditions, and we all have reasons to celebrate at this time of year,” she added. “You know, there’s a lot of things to celebrate, a lot of things to kind of honor and reflect upon, so it felt really right to be a part of this.

For her set, expect bubble machines, a parachute, scarves and original music to groove to for the performance.

“I love everything about being a children’s performer,” she said.  “I love that magic when the first chords hit and the kids all turn their attention to you.”

“That magic is more important now than ever before for us to be able to tap into that joy,” Hopwood said. “To be able to just create an environment where it doesn’t matter what’s going on outside the building. It doesn’t matter what’s going on outside the space. It’s about joy. It’s about love. It’s about being creative, being curious.”

The Philly Suns dancers are performing in bright, colorful handmade costumes — working in sync to mimic a lion’s movements. The troupe is part of a local grassroots youth organization that began as a basketball team in Chinatown and has since expanded.

“Lion dancing is both our cultural and our athletic portion of our team,” said Harry Leong, the president of the Philly Suns. “We work closely with a number of community organizations, particularly focused in Chinatown.”

Leong is excited to share a piece of Chinese heritage with the community on Christmas, but he’s also excited for his dancers to learn more about the museum.

“I think it’s an opportunity to share cultures,” he said. “We have an opportunity to walk through the museum and see Jewish histories — Jewish culture in the museum. … As humans, we need to know each other and getting to know each other’s culture is a major component.”

A Christmas for all cultures

Leong is a second-generation Chinese American. He grew up in Philly’s Chinatown. In some ways, he is accustomed to sharing Dec. 25 with Philly’s Jewish community.

“At a very young age, my family owned a restaurant, so during Christmas we would have many Jewish customers come in,” Leong said. He noted that he finds many parallels between the two cultures.

For his part, Samuels has long been a supporter of the Philly Suns.

“He’s been coming out,” Leong said. “He comes out and actually supports our events when we host public events.”

What’s more, this idea of just showing up and engaging with the community, reflects the purpose of “Being ____ at Christmas.”

“The spirit of this for me is getting people together, and that’s the spirit of this job for me all through the year — adult programming, kids programming, everything,” Samuels said. “Getting people out from behind our computers … actually shoulder to shoulder, face to face. Sharing humanity together, sharing space together, that’s what arts and culture spaces are about. That’s what the Weitzman Museum is about. That’s what I’m all about.”