‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ celebrates the first day of Hanukkah with the ‘Mensch on a Bench’
In celebration of the first day of Hanukkah, Jewish dad of two and creator of the ‘Mensch on a Bench’ joined ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss how he started his business.
A Reddit user named "jinsoox" took to the r/Parenting subreddit recently to seek parenting advice on a unique issue.
In a post titled, "My son is convinced [he is] Jewish" on Dec. 20, the Reddit user — (it's unclear if the Reddit writer is a mom or dad) — said that a six-year-old son recently learned about various holidays in school, including Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, and took a particular liking to Hanukkah.
The Redditor said the young son has "grown an attachment" to Hanukkah — with the young man even asking if he can light a menorah at home.
"He woke up on Sunday asking for us to light a menorah, and we explained to him that it’s a holiday tradition for a religion we don’t participate in," the Redditor wrote to others about the situation.
The parent explained that the family celebrates Christmas, although the child didn't seem to care about that, the writer noted in the post.
Redditor "jinsoox" shared with others in a post that a child has been asking to light a menorah "every day," even though the family is not Jewish. (iStock)
The Redditor said the young boy has been checking out books at the school library — all having to do with Hanukkah or Judaism.
The parent explained to him that Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday and the family is not Jewish — which upset the young boy, according to the post.
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"When we went to breakfast the next day, he was singing the dreidel song and kept telling our waitress that he’s excited for Hanukkah," the parent shared.
The six-year-old boy (not pictured) has been checking out books on Judaism from the school library, said the parent in a recent Reddit post. (iStock)
The Redditor went on to ask the social media community for help in getting the son to avoid telling others that the family is Jewish when they're not.
"He’s a very curious kid and has such an open mind when it comes to learning new traditions that people celebrate," the Redditor continued.
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People on Reddit weighed in with a variety of opinions on the subject.
"When we went to breakfast the next day, he was singing the dreidel song and kept telling our waitress that he’s excited for Hanukkah."
"He probably heard about eight days of presents and figured he’d get the equivalent of eight Christmases," one person on Reddit commented.
Although the family is not Jewish, the parent said in a social media post that the family (not pictured) is also not particularly religious — but they do celebrate Christmas. (iStock)
"Just endure it and bring it up when he’s 20 and has a [girlfriend] so she can laugh at him," another user wrote.
In a later edit to the post, the Redditor wrote, in part, "Since a lot of people are saying ‘just let him convert,’ I just wanted to say it’s not that I don't want him to be Jewish or have any problem with him choosing his own religion or am just not allowing it."
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The Redditor continued, "The thing is, I don’t think it’s appropriate for him to say he is Jewish so he can get presents for eight days — which is what this is stemming from."
A parent of a young boy (not pictured) took to Reddit to seek advice on how to explain to a son that he's not Jewish — and that the family does not celebrate Hanukkah. (iStock)
The poster added, "I’m trying to teach him to grow up to be someone who respects all religions, races and cultures and to see them all … for what they are in their entirety."
Fox News Digital reached out to the original poster for comment.
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Dr. Jayme Albin, a licensed psychologist and cognitive behavioral therapist in New York City, told Fox News Digital that she recommends sitting down with the boy and asking why he’s so interested in the Jewish holiday.
"If he expresses cultural or spiritual interest … I would express to him that [the family is] not from a Jewish heritage," she said.
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"It doesn’t mean he cannot learn about Judaism — and [that the family can't] use it as an opportunity to educate him about other religions," she also said.
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