12 German Jews

In the 19th century, many affluent German Jews in the US treated Christmas as an opportunity to assimilate into American society. They did charity work during Christmas, such as gathering donations and providing aid to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. They helped promote Christmas as a time of gift-giving.

To keep their Jewish identity, they celebrated Christmas as a non-religious family festival – just decorating Christmas trees and exchanging gifts.

(A German Jewish family in 1912)

They also visited a special type of restaurant during Christmas...

Reference:

Wheeler, Katrina Jennie-Lou, ‘The Reformation and Early Modern Periods’, in The Oxford Handbook of Christmas, ed. by Timothy Larsen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)

Plaut, Joshua Eli, A Kosher Christmas: ‘Tis the Season to be Jewish (US: Rutgers University Press, 2012)