Well, you're doing better than I am, then. Although I do have a
Jewish calendar at home, of course, and do have access to the
information on the internet, it is not uncommon to hear things like
"When is Rosh Hashanah this year?"

That's true for me as a Christian, too, with non-commercial but important
observances like Ash Wednesday or the first week in Advent. As observant as I
feel I am, it's easy to miss things that Hallmark isn't jamming down my throat.

Come to think of it, I've been known to miss secular holidays that Hallmark
*does* jam down with some regularlity. I'm constantly finding Mother's Day or
Father's Day sneaking up on me, and I've given up (much to my
Hallmark-programmed mother's chagrin) even trying to keep track of Grandparents
Day and Sweetest Day.

And as someone who often plans meetings for volunteers and special events in my
work, I appreciate the indulgence of religious communities who assume it was an
oversight and not a deliberate slight when we occasionally slip up. For the
life of me, I can't think of a reason at all why anyone would intentionally
step on a religious observance.

When Henry was in a Jewish preschool, we were keeping track of the Jewish
calendar because of dietary restrictions as school, Christian calendar because
that is our personal practice, and also we were new at that time to observing
Kwanzaa, Juneteenth, etc as we worked in African American celebrations in our
still-new-at-the-time role as a family built through transracial adoption. It
was quite the juggling act at times, and Henry loved the near-constant holiday
observance!

-Dawn
Mom to Henry, 11