Host: --and we’ve got our pet and lifestyle expert, Wendy Diamond back with us who’s always a lot of fun to talk about anything. I can just throw anything out there and you can talk about it for 10-20 minutes, just go on and on and on.
Wendy: 10 to 20 minutes to an hour. I know a lot about nothing believe me.
Host: You do know a lot about something. You have kind of a gripe about the way that we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah.
Wendy: First of all my mother was catholic and my father was Jewish. So I celebrated both so I was actually lucky. But I find that if you’re a little—I don’t understand you have these Jewish people like I’m a Jew. I can say Jewish people or whatever. I’m Jewish a little bit but I am—but I thought it really interesting like there’s the NBC tree lighting today, there’s the new York stock exchange tree lighting with Bill Ray Cyrus but NBC’s tree lighting, they had Barry Manilow, Jewish. They had Rod Stewart. They have Adam Sandler and they’ve all these Jews that never get the appreciation of celebrating of lighting the menorah. So that’s why I’m really curious.
Host: You see there should be more emphasis put on that.
Wendy: Absolutely, you could get Barbara Streisand to sing if it was the menorah right?
Host: I love Barbara Streisand by the way. Her voice is beautiful.
Wendy: I just think at the end of the day, Adam Sandler would sing his Hanukkah song. Maybe you can even get Goldie Hawn. She’s half Jewish. Remember that song?
Host: What would do if you were heading up this whole campaign because next year, it could be your year? You could change the way things are done.
Wendy: I think at the end of the day, we should celebrate everybody’s religion. This is a world full of a lot of religions right and at the end of the day, I think it’s about celebrating every religion, not just one religion. I think when you have the Christmas tree, you should also have the menorah. And I don’t know what they do with the other religions and what they celebrate with but you know absolutely, we should celebrate with everything or at least give them a little exposure. Because I think at the end of the day, it is about everyone celebrating life and being grateful.
Host: It really does start though Wendy with education though. Because you have to educate people about other religions in order for them to be able to celebrate it and understand why it is so important to other cultures to celebrate and why it could be important for them to celebrate. Because if you think about it, if you’re not Jewish, what would inspire you to do that unless you know the reason behind it. So you have to educate people.
Wendy: I think people really need to realize especially the people that celebrate Christmas is that that is only one day right and where the Jewish culture and religion, it’s eight days so that means eight gifts. And so you know what at the end of the day, they would be very very excited to learn more about the Jewish religion and especially during these times with all the conflicts in the middle east and everything like that. I think it’s about the more gifts, the more celebration and more appreciation--
Host: But see, you’re putting more materialistic than more the religion itself and the celebration itself.
Wendy: I think—I’m not talking about eight big gifts. I’m talking about everyday kind of appreciating here’s a little gift, here’s a little something. I’m not talking about big gifts. I know at Christmas, everyone expects big gifts. Just little gifts are fine. And then you do it for eight days. Maybe people will start doing it 365 days a year and really just being grateful everyday for what they have.
Host: So do you celebrate both?
Wendy: I celebrate everyday Audra. I really do. I have to tell you I just say to myself, I’m so lucky.
Host: We get a gift every time she shows up here. It’s a big gift every single time.
Wendy: I think that everyone just needs to be grateful for what they have in their life. We all have a lot of issues and problems and it’s just like at the end of the day, life is a gift.
Host: I’ll come light the menorah for you, Wendy. I’ll come sing for you as well too.
Wendy: Thank you so much.
Host: Thanks so much, Wendy, we’ll be right back.