Nittel Nacht facts for kids
Nittel Nacht (which means "Christmas Night" in Yiddish) is a special name given to Christmas Eve by some Jewish scholars. This practice started as early as the late 1500s. It is also sometimes called "Blind Night" or "Dark Night."
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What Does "Nittel" Mean?
The word "Nittel" for Christmas likely comes from a medieval Latin word, natalis, which means "birth." It is also often connected to a Hebrew word, nitleh, which was used in the Middle Ages to refer to Jesus.
Special Customs
The most common custom on Nittel Nacht is to avoid studying the Torah. The Torah contains Jewish holy teachings. Instead of studying, people often stay up late. They might play card games or chess. In the past, some people read a different book called Toledot Yeshu.
Why This Night Is Observed
The practice of avoiding Torah study on Nittel Nacht was first written about in the late 1600s. It was mentioned as a custom to avoid studying on "that man's holiday."
In the Middle Ages, it was often unsafe for Jewish people to be outside during the Christmas holidays. Christmas Eve was sometimes a time when attacks on Jewish communities began. Many Jews observed Nittel Nacht as a way to stay home and avoid being seen celebrating the Christian holiday. They also wanted to avoid feeling any joy on Christmas, so that no honor would be given to the day.
Some old writings from people who left Judaism mention a belief. They wrote that on Christmas Eve, Jesus would wander around as a punishment. They believed that if he heard Jewish people reading the Torah, it would give him a break from his suffering. So, they stopped studying to prevent this. These writings also mentioned Jews eating a lot of garlic to ward off bad spirits. Children were sometimes scared to use the bathroom on this night.
This observance became more popular in the 1700s, especially through the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Today, Orthodox Christian and Catholic Christian communities celebrate Christmas Eve on different dates because of different calendars. This led to discussions among rabbis about which night to observe Nittel Nacht. It is usually observed according to the local Christian community's Christmas Eve.
Nittel Nacht Today
In modern times, relations between Jewish and Christian people are much better. Because of this, Nittel Nacht is not as widely observed. However, some Hasidic communities still follow the custom. Many of these communities observe it based on the Julian Calendar, not the Gregorian Calendar. Some even observe both nights.
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