Chanukah: Dec. 10 (evening) through Dec. 18 |
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"Christmas Clubs" aren't used much today, but they were once a common promotion at American banks.
Account holders could set aside a small amount of money from each paycheck throughout the year and then they could withdraw the accumulated funds to purchase gifts during the holiday shopping season.
Christmas Clubs were also marketed to Jewish consumers. The Merchants Savings & Trust Company, an Uptown bank with a large Jewish clientele, had approximately 800 of these accounts in the early 1930s.
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Although scholars disagree on the origins of the tradition, Jewish parents have been giving coins, or gelt, to their children at Chanukah for centuries.
As the 20th century progressed, and Chanukah became increasingly colored by the larger Christmas season, gift-giving became a defining feature of the holiday for many families. Eager for business, local financial institutions expanded their popular Christmas Club programs to include so-called "Chanukah Clubs," which were the same promotion under a different name.
Some may see Chanukah Clubs as an encouraging sign of inclusion, while others may view them as a commodification of a spiritual season. Either way, we hope your Chanukah this year is warm, bright, meaningful, and safe.
IMAGE: A Chanukah Club advertisement from the Franklin Federal Savings & Loan Association in Squirrel Hill (Jewish Chronicle, October 28, 1976)
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A Special Gift: The Act of Valor Award |
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We regret our last-minute postponement of the Act of Valor Award ceremony broadcast that was planned for this past Sunday, Nov. 29.
We look forward to rescheduling the ceremony at some point in the future, when it is safe to do so and when circumstances are a little bit more predictable.
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The JGS of Pittsburgh Presents: Steve Morse |
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In his lecture "Case Study: Genealogy of Renee Kaufman," Steve Morse presents a genealogical case study using his "One-Step Webpages," as well as other websites, to develop a family history. He will illustrate how, with a minimal amount of initial information, you can obtain an entire genealogy for a particular person. He will also show you how to obtain records despite name misspellings, and how you can avoid accepting wrong information.
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Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Website, for which he has received both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Contribution Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society, first-ever Excellence Award from the Association of Professional Genealogists, and two awards that he cannot pronounce from Polish genealogical societies.
In his other life, Morse is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. He has held various research, development, and teaching positions, authored numerous technical papers, written four textbooks, and holds four patents. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today’s Pentium processor), which sparked the PC revolution nearly 40 years ago.
For more information, please contact Eric Lidji or call 412-454-6406.
This program is made possible by support from the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation.
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The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa. |
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Plan a Visit
Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222
412-454-6000
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A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Senator John Heinz History Center is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.
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