# Nittel Nacht

Nittel Nacht (Hebrew: ניטל נאַכט‎) or Nittel is a Jewish folk custom. It is observed by some Jewish communities on Christmas Eve. It was observed as early as the late 16th century by the Maharsha and was popularized in the 1700s by the Baal Shem Tov, but is not a widespread custom among modern Jews.

## Quotes

* In Jewish sources, Christmas Eve is known as Nittel Nacht. The term nittel originates from the Latin Natale Domini, "Nativity of the Lord"; however, when spelled in Hebrew, it takes on a new shade of meaning …
** Shai Alleson-Gerberg: "Nittel Nacht: An Inverted Christmas with Toledot Yeshu". TheTorah.com (2016).
* By the mid-1900s, when Judeo-Christian relations matured, the Christmas Eve customs fell mostly by the wayside as the Jewish community wanted to show their support for their Christian neighbors. While there are still some Orthodox groups that observe Nittel Nacht, these are not widespread customs among modern Jews.
** Benyamin Cohen: "Holy Night: The Little-Known Jewish Holiday of Christmas Eve". Slate (2009-12-22).
* Nittel Nacht comes to us from an era when relations between Jews and Christians, the Church and Judaism, could be described as 'tense' at best. We are fortunate to be living in a day and age where relations between these two groups have flourished immensely in both the Catholic and Protestant denominations.
** Rabbi Ari Enkin: "Nittel Nacht: Christmas Eve". Hirhurim (2007-12-23).
* The Yiddish name for Christmas is Nittel. It derives from the medieval Latin name of the holiday, Natalis Dies Domini, "the Lord's birthday", which also gave French and Italian their names for the holiday, Noël and Natale respectively.
** Elon Gilad: "Why Some Jews Don't Study Torah on Christmas Eve". Haaretz (2018-12-20).
* In certain places, Christian authorities actually prohibited Jews from appearing in public places during the Christian high holidays, so Jewish schools and synagogues were closed. In other places, Christians attacked Jews on Christmas, thus staying home was encouraged for security reasons.
** Rabbi Joshua E. Plaut: "What Eastern European Jews Did on Christmas". My Jewish Learning (2015).
* Just as some common people among the Jews sat up late on Christmas Eve keeping a boisterous apotropaic vigil, so too many Christian villagers watched out that night together in rowdy protective groups.
** Rebecca Scharbach: "The Ghost in the Privy: On the Origins of Nittel Nacht and Modes of Cultural Exchange". Jewish Studies Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 4 (2013), pp. 340–373. doi:10.1628/094457013X13814862384351.
* It's a little bit—some of you might be troubled by what we're going to say. Let me just first say that what I'm looking at tonight is a Jewish folk custom. I certainly don't need to denigrate any other religion, but historically, we can understand that the religions didn't always get along as well as they do today, and Jews were subject to all sorts of persecution, and Jews responded with the pen. And I think we can appreciate this and look at what is a folk custom without—you know, seeing it as an aspect of Jewish cultural history.
** Marc Shapiro, in "Christmas Eve: Is it a Time for Torah Study?" (02:52–03:23). Torah in Motion (2020-12-27).
* As to the word [Nittel] itself, there is no doubt that its origin is the Medieval Latin Natale Dominus from which the French Noel is also derived. Nevertheless, rabbinic authors, not being aware of this, have displayed great ingenuity in suggesting Hebrew sources for the word.
** Marc Shapiro: "Torah Study on Christmas Eve". Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 8.2 (1999): 319–353 [320–321]. doi:10.1163/147728599794761635.
* It used to be dangerous to go out on this night. [Observant Christians] would go to church, hear sermons about how Jews were Yoshke (Jesus) killers, and so it wasn't safe for the Jews to go outside. If that's the case, then there's no room for [Nittel Nacht] to be kept today because that isn't a worry or fear anymore.
** Rabbi Reuven Wolf, in "A Brief History of Nittel Nacht" by Kylie Ora Lobell. Jewish Journal (2016-12-21).

## See also

* Christmas Eve