Move over Elf on a Shelf, Introducing, Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf!

For the first time since 1959, Christmas and Hanukkah coincide as the first day of […]

For the first time since 1959, Christmas and Hanukkah coincide as the first day of Hanukkah falls on December 24th!

A High School history teacher has come up with a clever way to bring the popular Elf on a shelf tale to Jewish children!

Bloomsbury Children’s Books is introducing Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf in an attempt to straddle the divide between the two holidays for Jewish children living in a world dominated by the culture of all things Santa.

The story is about Shmelf, a North Pole elf who takes an interest in the Jewish children of the world and visits a Jewish home to learn all about Hanukkah. When he tells Santa what he learned, Santa tells Shmelf, “‘Hanukkah is a time for family and song,/For joy and tradition — it’s where you belong!/I’ve decided: at Hanukkah you’ll travel the world/Bringing magic and joy to each boy and each girl.” He gifts Shmelf with a special blue and white elf outfit, his own sleigh, and “a Jewish reindeer by the name of Asher.

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