Happy Chanukah! I've recently seen a couple online newspaper articles about Chabad doing Chanukah stuff, and the user comments are too fascinating. Here's a sampling:

Menorah Lights Up Sky, Stockton Faces: "ohmy5" is happy that we can come together and celebrate different holiday beliefs. S/he then cautions against calling the city Christmas tree a "holiday tree," lest the Christians in Stockton be prevented from celebrating Christmas. S/he ends with a "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!". Nice try, but not quite enough.

Note: I'm fine with the idea of a Christmas tree, especially if it's chilling next to a menorah. It's self-righteous attitudes I deplore, especially when they insist that America's a Christian country (to the exclusion of all else).

Suffern Chabad Holding 'Hanukkah Wonderland' All Week: "KeepRamapoSecular" kicks it off by asking "Were any chickens injured in the production of this Wonderland?", to which "weram" responds "Racist, Anti Semetic (sic) response as usual." "katie45" wonders if it's too Christmasy, and whether that's allowed. "yonaliz" responds to her that "of course it's allowed," and what better way to unite all Jews from all "sections" of Judaism. 10 bucks if you can guess "yonaliz"'s affiliation...

There follows an extensive discussion about the rabbi's outfit from the photo. "flyboy1" asks (with incorrect punctuation, by the way) why he's dressed like a "roman soldier." "flyboy1" alleges that Pontius Pilate (which he spelled wrong), who was a Roman, killed Jesus, which "flyboy1" considers "interesting." "BenKaufman" replies that the Romans weren't the only ones with metal armor, and that the rabbi was probably dressed like the Maccabean soldiers who fought the Greeks. No mention of Pontius. "Bitachon" says that the rabbi's dressed as a Greek soldier.

Then it gets downright dirty. "Fairness4All" likes the Jews, and likes when they share Chanukah with the community. She only objects to certain sects that she says "abuse the social services and tax system." But, she says, we should let those issues go during the holidays. Also, don't miss the protracted discussion about whether Chabad is a Jewish sect, or a "new religion" that broke off from Judaism 300 years ago, the same way Christianity broke off from Judaism. I'm not gonna lie - it's pretty hardcore when the Jews throw down...