Open season

The holiday season can mean many different things, depending on religion and culture. For some, it means latkes and lighting hanukkiot. For others, it means decorating a tree and attending midnight mass. Jerusalem is home to an incredibly diverse mix of people; a unique asset of the Holy City that is felt particularly during the winter months when such an array of holidays is being celebrated. A desire to showcase the city's cultural diversity led to the creation of the Open Holidays project. Nir Cohen, co-founder of Open Holidays, was living and working in London when he was struck by how different the diversity there felt. “It was eye opening,” he says. “It's a very multicultural city. There is a sense of celebrating diversity – that the city's multicultural nature makes it unique. For me, this was an unbelievable experience. Growing up in Jerusalem, you get the feeling that diversity is something negative; it causes tension. When I moved back to Jerusalem, I wanted to bring this sense of celebrating diversity with me.” Cohen met Tali Ysia, who made aliya from Ethiopia with her family when she was four years old. The two connected at a networking event and then met for coffee to brainstorm ideas that could celebrate Jerusalem's diversity in a new way. The brainstorming session did not bear fruit, but shortly thereafter, Cohen and Ysia met a team member from Hag Hahagim (Festival of Festivals) in Haifa. The popular annual event celebrates both Christmas and Hanukka by highlighting the different communities of Haifa. Cohen and Ysia were struck by this idea and how, in Jerusalem, there are even more cultures and traditions. “We realized that there was a big potential for a similar idea here in Jerusalem,” Cohen adds. “Then we met with Inbar Halperin, who became the third co-founder. She and I used to work at Siftech together.” The three met in December of last year. As it was already very close to holiday season, there was not a lot of time to produce multiple events. They came up with the name Open Holidays and decided that they would begin by focusing on finding families who were willing to open their homes to strangers to talk about their holidays, including the holiday of Sigd for Ethiopian Jews; the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad for Muslims; Hanukka for Jews; Christmas for Protestants, Catholics, Greek Orthodox and the Ethiopian Church; and Novy God, the New Year celebration for those of Russian descent. “It's so good to celebrate these different traditions and let people experience them, usually for the first time,” Cohen shares. “Last year was really the pilot.” During the time spanning the beginning of Hanukka last year through New Year's Day, Open Holidays held 11 events. These included nights hosted by an Ethiopian family, as well as a haredi family. Open Holidays also offered tours of different neighborhoods, such as Mea She'arim and the Christian Quarter in the Old City. This year, Open Holidays has expanded its programming considerably. It now has a steering committee with representatives from Jerusalem's different communities, including someone from east Jerusalem, a member of the haredi community, two Christian Arabs, and someone from the Russian-speaking community. “It's an amazing experience when we all meet around the table,” Cohen says. “It's proof that this can really work.” There are now four types of events: home visits, neighborhood tours, workshops and cultural celebrations. Last week, seven events highlighted the holiday of Sigd. There were three home visits; participation in the holiday's main ceremony; an interactive lecture on Ethiopian culture; and finally, an Ethiopian cooking workshop given by a woman and her 80-year-old mother. The women spoke about their aliya story and their culture, allowing attendees to ask questions and get to know the culture through cuisine. Open Holidays is currently hosting events to showcase the Muslim celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. On December 1, it hosted a lecture on traditions and customs in Islam. On December 3, there was a kanafeh-making workshop held in east Jerusalem's Beit Hanina neighborhood. On December 6, Open Holidays brought a group to meet with a Muslim sheikh in a mosque and offered a tour of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City. The rest of December will find Open Holidays focusing on Hanukka, Christmas and Novy God. Every week of the month, there will be diverse offerings. For Hanukka, there will be an event to facilitate an encounter between the haredi and secular populations. There is also a photography tour of Jerusalem's Nahlaot neighborhood with acclaimed Jerusalem photographer Yoram Amir. With a focus on opening minds and leading people out of their comfort zones, Open Holidays will also take a group on a tour of a haredi art gallery. Finally, there will be two home visits with haredi families. For Christmas events, a Christian family will open their home. There will also be a tour highlighting Ethiopian Christianity in Jerusalem and a meeting with the Syrian community in the Old City. “When someone opens their house, it's really an incredible thing,” Cohen adds. “The home is your bubble, your shelter; it's where you feel most comfortable. People respect someone who opens their home and it allows people to really listen. We're not trying to get into coexistence dialogue. We're not even going there. We're about the cultural and traditional side, where people can come, experience and learn about others through their holiday celebrations. Learning reduces fear and gaps between people. I saw it with myself last year. I had never been to a haredi home before. I saw that the word doesn't even mean anything; there are real people behind it. You can see people from a different perspective that is broader; not black and white. That's what we're aiming for.” Humanizing the unknown through encounters with the “other” while learning about the way different traditions celebrate their holidays is the crux of Open Holidays. In collaboration with the YMCA of Jerusalem, Open Holidays will be hosting a photography contest for photographs representing diversity in Jerusalem during the December holidays. Contestants will upload their entries on Facebook with the hashtag “open holidays.” Twenty photos will be chosen for an exhibition at the YMCA, and then from those, the winner will receive a free night's stay at the YMCA hotel. The competition will run until the beginning of January. “Those who come to our events will see diversity as an asset that has value for the city,” Cohen concludes. “People often hear that the city is so heavy and complicated, but it is also very colorful and beautiful. It's vibrant and different. Diversity is our greatest benefit; that what Open Holidays are here to show.” www.facebook.com/openHolidayJLM/

Open season

Open Holidays celebrates Jerusalem’s diversity through its many holiday activities.

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