By Stephanie Gross

Staff Writer

Most families do not keep a menorah and Christmas tree sitting side by side in their living room, but when my family flies to Miami every Christmas to see my grandparents, I can always count on both religious symbols placed next to each other.

I have always considered my family to be unique since my dad is Jewish and my mom is Christian. Growing up, it had always been very different for me since all of my friends were Christian. It is been especially different since Coppell is predominantly a Christian community.

I have lived in Coppell my entire life and can count on one hand the amount of Jewish or half Jewish people I have met. When I was in elementary school, I knew a girl who was Jewish and that was about it. It was never really a big deal growing up with parents of two different religions, but there were certainly sometimes where I would get confused about religion.

Whenever I tell people that my dad is Jewish, they always ask, “Oh, I did not know you are Jewish?” I am Christian, not Jewish. My mom has always told me that when I was born, my dad and she decided to raise me Christian so I have always gone to church and followed the Christian religion.

Although I have grown up as a Christian my whole life, it is kind of weird because like most families in Coppell who go to church together, mine usually does not.

I remember going to some of my cousins bar mitzvahs and it being very different. I would sit through the ceremonies and listen to the rabbi and family members switch back and forth from Hebrew to English, reciting prayers and reading from the Torah. Those experiences were always very different for me yet I liked them because it was a unique since not a lot of people in the Coppell area are Jewish.

One of my favorite memories growing up was celebrating Passover at my grandparent’s house when they lived in Coppell. My grandma would always cook and our entire family would get together around the table and read from the prayer book; my Jewish cousins would always read the Hebrew and my brother and I would read the English translations. The best part was when my grandpa would get matzah and wrap it in napkins with dollar bills in them and then hide them around the house for all of the grandkids to find. Being able to do Passover is a small part of my family life I found special.

Although I find having Jewish heritage unique, there have been times where other people have not agreed. This past summer, I attended a Christian summer camp where I talked to my camp counselor and told her about how my family has grown up in a unique religious situation. She then wore this confused look on her face and straight up asked me “What is Judaism?” What she asked me to do was explain the religion to her. I was utterly shocked. I did not know what to think, considering she was such a strong Christian and Jesus was Jewish.

That is one thing being part Jewish had taught me, to look at the world with open eyes. I would compare growing up with parents of two different religions to growing up being two different ethnicities because each religion has different customs and traditions. It is honestly the best of both worlds being able to see certain things from two different perspectives.