I Have Some Christian Friends

The Corner's John Derbyshire:

Yesterday, off to a third-night-of-Hanukkah party given by some Jewish friends.

Do you really need to say "Jewish friends"? I know non-Jews might throw such a party, but does their religious affiliation matter in either case? Seems you could easily say "third-night-of-Hanukkah party given by some friends."

I guess it's not a big deal, but somehow that stuck in my craw. I mean, heck, Saturday night we went to a Christmas party thrown by some friends. Do you need any qualifiers about said friends to understand that we went to a party?

Oh, and this annoyed me too:

I came away wiser and more respectful, and vowing never to speak lightly of Hanukkah again. It's not just an excuse for Jews to party at Christmastime, it's a real festival with a serious message to it. And some TERRIFIC food.

I'm pleased he's now enlightened (pun intended) and no longer will dismiss somebody else's holiday. Wonder how John feels about things like Ramadan Eid Al-Fitr* and Kwanza. I'll be they have some TERRIFIC food, too. Oy.

ntodd

* [Update: I probably should've said Eid, not Ramadan, given the next sentence. Or maybe using Ramadan as the example is more ironic?]  ¶ 12:08 PM