Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. Chanukah is actually a very minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, in terms of religious significance. It celebrates a military victory that isn't even mentioned in the canonical Bible (it's in the texts known as the apocrypha). In the last century, especially in the United States, Chanukah's importance has grown due to its proximity to Christmas. In a country where Christmas is so aggressively celebrated, both at spiritual and secular levels, it is not surprising that Christmas-inspired traditions, such as holiday decorations and gift-giving, have become de riguer in many a Jewish household.
Lots of people know that Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Jews, led by a small group of warriors known as the Maccabees, over the tyranical Greeks. What a lot of people don't know is that the war was not just with the Greeks. It was also a war with Jews who had assimilated to Greek culture. Isn't it ironic that a holiday marking a victory against assimilation has itself become the most assimilated holiday on the Jewish calendar?