Matzo Ball

For the traditional Jewish food, see matzah ball.

The Matzo Ball is an annual Christmas Eve nightlife event and party held in a number of major cities in the United States and Canada targeted primarily at young Jewish singles and organized by the Society of Young Jewish Professionals.[1][2]

The name of the event is frequently styled as MatzoBall[3][4][5] or misspelled as Matzah Ball[3][6] or MatzahBall.[7][8]

There are a number of competing social events in Jewish communities throughout the U.S. and Canada held that same night. In addition, Matzo Ball and similar spellings are also used as the names for a variety of other, unrelated Jewish community events in particular regions.

Background

Historical

See also: Nittel Nacht

Historically, Jews in Europe would hide in their homes and villages during the Christmas holiday, for fear of violence from locals.[9] In the United States, Christmas and Christmas Eve typically serve as times of family gathering and prayer for Christians and many others.[10]

The atmosphere of religious liberalism and tolerance in the United States has offered American Jews the opportunity to enjoy the holiday period.[9][11]

At the same time, many American Jews do not engage in the same family-gathering activities on the Christmas holiday that Christians in the United States do.[11][12][13]

Social

With Christmas Day a work holiday throughout the United States, there is a space of unfilled free time during which much of American commerce and society is not functioning, and which could lead to a sense of alienation or loneliness for American Jews.[1][11][14][15][16][17]

Typical contemporary activities were usually limited to "Chinese and a movie"[18][19][20]—consuming a meal at a Chinese restaurant, which tend to be open for business on the Christmas holiday, and watching a movie at the theater or at home, stereotypically a rerun of It's a Wonderful Life.[16][21][22][23][24]

With the rise of the Matzo Ball and similar local events, the night of December 24 has become an opportunity to transform this otherwise brief period into one made to gather, socialize, catch up with old friends, network, drink, flirt, and romance.[11][23][25][26] The event has turned Christmas Eve into a matchmaking or dating event for young Jews[1][26][27][28] and "the biggest singles night of the year."[14][29] The event is an opportunity to meet "'a lot of like-minded people dressed up to have a good time, network, find their mate'."[30]

Whether "by their own volition or by the insistent nudging of their parents and grandparents," many young American Jews now attend these Christmas Eve singles events.[21] While some party-goers admit that they attend with an eye toward flirting and romance, others maintain that they go only to spend time with friends, dance, and drink cocktails.[30]

Events such as the Matzo Ball are also seen by some leaders in the Jewish community as a last chance to engage some young American Jews who come "out of the woodwork" for drinking and socializing but are otherwise difficult to reach and uninvolved with Jewish organizations.[31]

Event

The first Matzo Ball event was held in Boston in 1987 and organized by local social figure Andy Rudnick.[1]

As a Boston University senior in political science and part-time bartender in 1986, Rudnick attended a Jewish young professionals Christmas Eve gathering at a local hotel, where he found a staid atmosphere similar to a high school prom, with women on one side of the room, and men on the other.[14][15][21][32] The environment, including the strong lighting, waits to purchase drink tickets and to receive a drink, bad music, and stale latkes were not conductive to meeting people and having fun.[5][23]

Following that incident, Rudnick began developing the idea for hosting an event the next December 24 at the nightclub he then bartended part-time at, Metro.[14][21][32] He and his friends built up awareness of the upcoming event through word of mouth, posters, and flyers hand-distributed, including at malls.[5] Some coverage of the event by local radio DJs, who invited Rudnick on-air to promote it,[23] and Rudnick's on-air exaggerations about expected ticket sales,[5] helped spread the word and 2,000 people attended the first Matzo Ball.[14][15][21][23] Rudnick soon quit his job in commercial real estate to focus on the organization and event, and expanding to other cities.[15][32]

The name of the event and the name of the organization were created on-the-spot in 1987. The event name was inspired by Rudnick's Irish-American coworker's question about Jewish cuisine,[5][21] and the organization's name was thought up by Rudnick and his Italian-American nightclub bosses, Boston enterainment mogul brothers John and Patrick Lyons, who were concerned about offending both Jews and Christians with the stereotypical name Matzo Ball for an event being held on Christmas Eve, and harming the club's reputation.[5][15][32] Other names for the event considered by Rudnick were 'Tribe Trot' and 'Heeb Hop', both of which were rejected upon the recommendation of Rudnick's mother, who also found the name Matzo Ball to be cute.[5]

The event has permeated American Jewish consciousness, even winding up in fiction,[33][34][35] and has been cited as a desired destination in online gossip publications.[36]

Events

Logistics

Tickets and crowd

Matzo Ball events are generally held at popular nightclubs in the cities in which the event is located.[5][15][22][26][27] The average age range of the crowd spans from the 20s through 40s, unless otherwise specified.[5][14][21][22][37] A ticket purchased at the door can cost $30–40.[21][30][38][39]

Attendance at the New York event can average from 1,100 to 1,700 people,[21][40] with an entry line forming outside the venue 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.[21] Crowd sizes at smaller venues, like in Boca Raton, can be 800 to 1,000 people.,[16] but with a crowd that arrives later, leading to a long line for entry at midnight.[40]

The event is typically scheduled to begin at 8 or 9 p.m. and run through the last call time for the state/locality, with peak attendance and flirting at approximately midnight.[16][21][24][39][41][42]

In some cities, ticket prices include hors d'oeuvres and sometimes a ticket for a free drink, sometimes limited to early arrivals.[43][44] The crowd is often well-dressed.[45]

Associated activities

Some party-goers to Christmas Eve singles events "pregame" with friends at home before arriving at the event.[46]

In some cities, the Matzo Ball is linked officially or unofficially to other Jewish events on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, such as volunteering at local food banks.[15]

Rudnick and SYJP have also experimented with a variety of other activities, including singles cruises, Valentine's Day and Passover-linked parties, and a magazine.[5]

Co-sponsorship

The official organizer for the Matzo Ball events is Rudnick's Society of Young Jewish Professionals.[1] An occasional sponsor of the Matzo Ball is JDate, even during those periods when JDate organized its own Christmas Eve event in Los Angeles under the name 'Schmooz-a-Palooza'.[21][23][40][47]

Local groups and individuals also sometimes work with SYJP, especially when the event is new or newly reintroduced in a given city.[37][48][49]

Crowd diversity

At various times, the Matzo Ball has experimented with dividing some of its venues by age into different rooms or even separate adjacent venues, even giving a separate event name, "The Big Chill", to the party catering to 30-somethings seeking a less-noisy environment.[22][40][47][50][51] The events are open to the public, and couples and non-Jews looking for a Christmas Eve activity are welcome to come,[14][16][47] "though, obviously, it caters largely to young people who aren't spending Christmas Eve with their families or at church."[30]

In some Matzo Ball cities, a number of attendees are from out-of-town, particularly in cities that have large numbers of visitors or where families tend to gather for the winter holidays, such as Boca Raton, which has a large number of New Yorkers during the holiday period.[40]

Atmosphere

Rudnick's formula for the Matzo Ball atmosphere is to find a large venue that can handle the large crowds, and for the lights to get dimmer and the music to get louder gradually over the course of the night.[37][52] This allows for easier mingling and conversation earlier in the night before the hip-hop and dance/house music becomes loud enough to encourage dancing.[14][52][53]

Rudnick rejects the usual aspects of Jewish social events, including name tags, announcements, and live bands, because they would be a distraction from mingling.[5][37]

Locations

Rudnick and SYJP expand the Matzo Ball to new cities when they believe that have found the infrastructure and potential clientele of young, upscale Jewish people necessary to make the event successful.[37]

As of 2014, it has expanded to the following cities:[2][51][54]

In past years, the Matzo Ball also held events in the following cities where it no longer does:

Prior to the mid-2000s, in Los Angeles, the Matzo Ball had ceded the region to the much more locally long-standing Schmooz-a-Palooza hosted by Stu & Lew Productions[1] (which was acquired by JDate in 2006[70]), before becoming a co-promoter for the event with JDate.[54] Starting at least as early as 2009, the Matzo Ball partnered with JDate and promoted as a Matzo Ball the JDate/Stu & Lew Productions Schmooz-a-Palooza.[54] By 2014, the Schmooz-a-Palooza brand appeared to have been retired from use.[71]

Results

Rudnick promotes the in-person meetings that take place at the Matzo Ball as an antidote to online dating and its tendency to urge daters to always look for an even better catch around the corner.[32]

The socializing and flirting that takes place at the Matzo Ball gives rise to many romantic relationships.[14] The organizers believe that more than 1,000 marriages have resulted from meetings at various Matzo Balls (and stopped counting after reaching the 1,000 mark[21]), and Rudnick himself met his wife at a Matzo Ball in 1997, where she tended bar.[1][5][32][72]

As of the mid-2010s, there is now a "second generation" of Matzo Ball attendees — children born to parents who first met at the Matzo Ball in previous decades — who are now old enough to attend.[15]

Competitors

There are also a number of competitors to the Matzo Ball and other events organized in cities where no Matzo Ball is held.[1][27]

The competition among the Christmas Eve parties has occasionally been stiff, especially during the "Matzo Ball wars of the early 90s", with use of similar-sounding event names, the use of touts and bouncers to chase away those touts outside events, and ticket dumping to "crush" the competition.[5]

The Ball

A major competitor to the Matzo Ball in New York is known simply as "The Ball",[1] which began operations in 1994.[40] In New York City, The Ball focuses on having separate venues, five as of the early 2010, targeted by age demographic, and with attendees receiving limousine service between venues,[27][73] although party-goers must purchase an all-access pass to attend all five events.[40]

In 2008, the organizer of The Ball, LetMyPeopleGo, attempted to expand the event into 24 other cities with significant Jewish populations.[74][75] In almost all of those cities, with local marketing and co-hosting of the event performed by JDate,[76] it was cancelled near the event date.[74][76][77]

However, the Los Angeles version of The Ball, which was instead co-sponsored and co-marketed by the young adults divisions of the LA Guardians, the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging foundation, was successful and held again in 2009.[78][79][80] The co-sponsorship continued, raising money for the LA Jewish Home, through 2012.[81] In 2013, the Guardians and The Ball broke off their association, as the Guardians began organizing their own Christmas Eve event.[82] The Ball, in turn, partnered nationally with online dating sites Match.com and OKCupid, both of which advertised The Ball events across the country to their members.[38]

As of 2014, The Ball held Christmas Eve events in two cities: Los Angeles and New York.[83]

Niche and local events

New York City

Other New York City Jewish Christmas Eve events include parties for "the pro-Israel crowd, Jewish gays and lesbians, and downtown Jewish hipsters."[27]

The sheer number of events, combined with the compactness of Manhattan, means that events are often held within a short walking distance, if not eyesight of one another.[52][73]

Chicago

Likewise, by the late 2000s, Chicago Jewish Christmas Eve events ran the gamut of tastes and preferred crowd.[84] These included gatherings named 'Rockmitzvah', 'Hubukkah', the 'Heebonism' bash (sponsored by Heeb Magazine), and the more mainstream 'The Juju Ball' and 'Retro Eve', a long running but now defunct event.[84][85]

Washington, DC

In Washington, DC, a longtime competitor and alternative to the Matzo Ball has been the Gefilte Fish Gala, an event with no admission charge but only a requested donation, which is usually also held on Christmas Eve unless the night of the 24th coincides with Friday night, the Jewish sabbath.[86]

Beginning in 2010, an informal group of Washington, DC, Jewish young professionals decided to organize another competitor to the Matzo Ball, the Falafel Frenzy, with all proceeds going to charity.[87] The event has been successful in collecting money for local charities and continues to be held.[39][87]

Atlanta

Atlanta, which had previously hosted an annual "Matzah Ball" unrelated to the SYJP event,[88] has been the home of competing events for both mainstream audiences, such as the 'Bagel Bash',[89][90] and niche groups, such as the local NCJW section's 'Santa Klutz Ball' for older singles.[91]

Houston

For a number of years, the Houston JCC sponsored that city's annual 'Bagel Ball' Christmas Eve party,[92] which is now run independently.[93]

Heeb Magazine 'Heebonism' events

Heeb Magazine sponsored and organized its 'Heebonism' events in various U.S. cities on Christmas Eve, targeted toward a "hip" audience seeking an alternative to events like the Matzo Ball, beginning in the late 2000s.[9][85][94] By 2009, Heebonism had expanded to five cities nationally.[9] Nationally, Heebonism organizers sought to offer a more "culturally substantive" and non-conformist event, with activities including "strip dreidel", video games, and light food.[9][94] At the Los Angeles/Palm Springs Heebonism in 2009, strip dreidel was led by porn stars James Deen and Joanna Angel.[95] In Denver, the local Heebonism event had its origin as a private pre-party for those seeking alternative entertainment before heading to the Matzo Ball.[96] By 2013, Heebonism had retrenched and Heebonism events outside of Denver apparently had been eliminated.

Jewish community organized events

Other major cities have homegrown and well-attended Christmas Eve events that were established long before the Matzo Ball or The Ball entered the local scene.

Federation YAD/YLD

These include Seattle's Latkepalooza,[97] Cincinnati's Latkapalooza[98] San Francisco's The Latke Ball,[99] Tampa's Vodka Latke,[1] Phoenix's Mazelpalooza,[14][100] and Dallas's Matzah Ball,[101][102] all of which are sponsored by their respective Jewish Federation's young professionals division.

Jewish Community Centers/Hillels/FIDF

Christmas Eve events run by local Jewish Community Centers, typically by their young adults division, include Chicago's Matzo Bash (in conjunction with Taglit - Birthright Israel, FIDF, and other groups),[103][104] Orland's Twelve24,[105] Dallas's Matzah Ball (in conjunction with the local Federation young adults division),[101][102] and Las Vegas's 'Light it Up' (previously ran for 17 years as the Bagel Ball).[43][106][107][108]

Cleveland's local Hillel young professionals group co-sponsors with FIDF the annual Wrap Up Bash.[109]

Schmooz-a-Palooza

Schmooz-a-Palooza was the long-running Los Angeles counterpart to the Matzo Ball, and was held for the 20th straight year in 2013.[1][110][111] It originated with Stu & Lew Productions, which was acquired by JDate in 2006.[70] The event evolved over the years from a social mixer to a party atmosphere, bringing together, for example, southern Californians who had not seen each other since their younger years in Jewish communal settings.[112] It was also a noted opportunity for reconnecting and romance.[113]

By the late 2000s and early 2010s, Schmooz-a-Palooza had become integrated into the Matzo Ball network of nationwide events[54][66] and faced competition from other local events, including a local young Jewish professionals charitable group's directly competing mixer and a Jewish comedy night at the Laugh Factory,[114] along with more loosely organized events, such as music performances by Jewish musicians and informal socializing and drinking organized by local Moishe Houses.[115]

By 2014, the Stu & Lew Productions and 'Schmooz-a-Palooza' brands appeared to no longer be in use for Christmas Eve parties and to have been retired.[71]

Similarly named events unaffiliated with SYJP

Other Christmas Eve singles events

Prior to Rudnick's organizing of the Matzo Ball in Boston in 1987 and expansion into other cities, Jewish organizations in other cities had used similar names for their own Christmas Eve singles events.

The Jewish Community Center of Dallas organizes its annual "Matzoh Ball" or "Matzah Ball" event, having begun in either 1981[116] or 1984.[117] The event continues to be run each Christmas Eve under that name, now jointly organized by the JCC of Dallas and the local Jewish Federation young adults division,[101][102][118] and is unaffiliated with the Matzo Ball event and Rudnick.[54]

Atlanta also had its own "Matzah Ball" for many years.[88]

An identically named Matzoball event has been held on Christmas Eve in Toronto since 1988.[69] As of 2013, it is sponsored by the Canadian unit of the Jewish National Fund and organized by Magen Boys Entertainment.[69] The event organizers have indicated their desire to expand to other cities in Canada, particularly Montreal and Vancouver, in future years.[69]

SYJP trademark disputes over Matzo Ball name

Rudnick and SYJP have also come into conflict with organizers of other events named similarly to Matzo Ball,[5] including Seattle's Jewish Federation young leadership division, which changed it event name from Matzah Ball to Latkapalooza in 2004 after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Rudnik's attorneys.[67] The Federation's attorney's insisted that because of the lapse in SYJP's federal trademark registration for the term in the late 1990s, and because the Federation had been using the term locally during that period, they were entitled to continue to do so.[67]

Bowling-related events

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles entertainment division organized a late spring "Matzah Bowl" event for a number of years, beginning in 1996.[119] In Atlanta, the promoter of the 'Bagel Bash' organized an early spring bowling function for singles called the "Matzah Bowl". A 2009 Christmas Eve musical event at Brooklyn Bowl, co-sponsored by Israel's New York Consulate General, was dubbed "The Matzah Bowl".[120][121] The event derived its name in part from its location in a Brooklyn bowling alley.

Other events not targeted at single adults

Smaller Jewish community entities have also used variations on the "Matzo Bowl" name for a variety of events, including for knowledge competitions held by individual synagogues[122] and fundraising events organized by chapters of Alpha Epsilon Pi.[123]

The Greater Kansas City Council of BBYO and its AZA Nordaunian chapter sponsor a large annual teen dance called the Matzo Ball, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in April 2010.[124][125]

Criticisms

The Matzo Ball and similar events have been subject to mild criticism that the events are "meet markets"[9] or, more punningly, "[kosher] meat markets."[76][126] Women attendees tend to dress inappropriately in a revealing manner while men at the event are liable to use awkward pickup lines and noticeably prowl.[26][42]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Jessica Gresko, Dec. 24 Becomes Party Night for Jewish Singles, Associated Press (Washington Post), December 24, 2006
  2. 1 2 3 Mike Cohen, Famous Matzo Ball parties to land here, Jewish Tribune (Canada), November 10, 2009
  3. 1 2 Joe Berkofsky, Christmas time inspires Jews 'to express own Jewishness' , JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), reprinted in j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California, December 20, 2002
  4. ↑ Party pics: 12th Annual MatzoBall party, MetroMix.com, 2008
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 James Kirchick, Matzoball Memories: My uncle, godfather of the Jewish singles business, created a Christmas Eve tradition, Tablet Magazine, December 22, 2014
  6. ↑ The Matzah Ball at KISS & FLY - Thursday, Dec 24th 2009, Rhythmism.com - Upcoming Events forum, 2009
  7. ↑ Roy S. Gutterman, Hitting the Road to Check Out the Scene During Holiday Season, The (Philadelphia) Jewish Exponent, January 8, 2009
  8. ↑ Society of Young Jewish Professionals, Press Release: Record 10,000 Jewish Singles to Attend Matzo Ball Parties on December 24, PRWebDirect.com, December 20, 2005
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 What’s a Jew to do on Christmas Eve?, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), December 17, 2009
  10. ↑ Jennifer 8. Lee, A Season of More, New York Times, December 24, 2008
  11. 1 2 3 4 Marc Tracy, Christmas is the Greatest Jewish Holiday, The New Republic, December 19, 2013
  12. ↑ Brenda Lane Richardson, Deciding to Celebrate Christmas, or Not, New York Times, December 16, 1987
  13. ↑ Daniel J. Wakin, Off on Yom Kippur? It's Probably Time To Work a Holiday, New York Times, December 22, 2003
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kellie Hwang, Dec. 24 is time to party at Mazelpalooza, Matzoball, Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com, December 18, 2014
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Barbara Lewis, MatzoBall Detroit: Jewish singles now have their own party on Christmas Eve, Detroit Jewish News, December 18, 2014
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hundreds of Jewish singles in Palm Beach County will spend Christmas Eve mingling, China Daily, December 24, 2008
  17. ↑ Arlene Vigoda, Cry No More, USA Today, December 13, 1993
  18. ↑ Marziah Karch, Happy Chinese and a Movie, Wired, December 24, 2014
  19. ↑ Julie Wiener, The joy of not celebrating Christmas, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), December 24, 2013
  20. ↑ Simon Vozick-Levinson, Chinese food and movies: A Christmas tradition, Entertainment Weekly, December 25, 2009
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Marshall Heyman, 'Tis the Season For Matzo Balls, Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2010
  22. 1 2 3 4 Jodi Duckett, Jewish Singles Mingle Christmas Eve, Allentown Morning Call, December 18, 1995
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Robert Gluck, What young Jews do on Christmas Eve, Los Angeles Jewish Journal, December 20, 2011
  24. 1 2 The Matzo Ball: No, It Isn't Something to Eat, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 17, 1993, p. 3G
  25. ↑ Jennifer 8. Lee, Things to Do if You Don’t Do Christmas, New York Times, December 23, 2004
  26. 1 2 3 4 Carin Davis, Life, Love, Lox: Real-World Advice for the Modern Jewish Girl, Running Press, 2010, p. 149
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Ben Harris and Jacob Berkman, Hitting the Matzo Balls on Christmas Eve, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency),December 31, 2007
  28. ↑ This Jewish singles party comes but once a year, Christmas Eve has become the hottest annual date for meeting a potential mate, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 25, 2003, available via Newsbank Archives
  29. ↑ Meredith Goldstein, Looking for a marry little holiday?, Boston Globe, December 24, 2008
  30. 1 2 3 4 Mike Vilensky, Another Kind of Christmas Eve Tradition: The Matzo Ball Brings 'Young Professionals, Jewish Singles' Together, Wall Street Journal, December 25, 2013
  31. ↑ Jack Werthheimer, The New Jewish Leaders: Reshaping the American Jewish Landscape, University Press of New England, 2011, p. 7
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heather Robinson, MatzoBall Founder Launches 'MatzoBowl', New York Jewish Week, April 3, 2013
  33. ↑ Francesca Segrè, Daughter of the Bride, 2006, pp. 243–244
  34. ↑ Shana Liebman, Sex, Drugs & Gefilte Fish: The Heeb Storytelling Collection, Grand Central Publishing, 2009, p. PT32
  35. ↑ Lance Long, Boca Chita, BENU Books, 2012, p. PT8
  36. ↑ Kenny Santucci: I Wanna Go To 'Matzo Ball' , TMZ.com, December 2014
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bryan Rourke, Having a ball on Christmas Eve, Providence Journal, December 20, 2008, p. 4
  38. 1 2 Alan Zeitlin, O Holy Night!: Christmas Eve is abrim with lots 'o Matzo Balls and other events designed with Jewish singles in mind, New York Jewish Week, December 23, 2013
  39. 1 2 3 Fritz Hahn and Rhome Anderson, For Christmas week, there's Matzo Ball and Falafel Frenzy and post-holiday parties, Washington Post, December 23, 2013
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Marshall Heyman, The Matzo Ball Night Out, Wall Street Journal, December 24, 2011
  41. ↑ Stephen Heyman, Matzo Ball Offers Singular Senation for Jewish Partyers, Palm Beach Post, December 26, 2004
  42. 1 2 Heather Robinson, Reflections on the matzo ball, New York Blueprint, December 26, 2013
  43. 1 2 Melissa Arseniuk, Nightlife: Seven Nights, Vegas Seven, December 23, 2010, p. 65
  44. ↑ Nicole Lyn Pesce, Monday in New York, New York Daily News, December 24, 2007, p. 30
  45. ↑ Sarah Baicker, Jewish at Christmas?, NBC 10 Philadelphia, December 19, 2008
  46. ↑ Jessica Yadegaran, Christmas Eve party alternative: Latke Ball, Contra Costa Times, December 10, 2007
  47. 1 2 3 Tracy Block, Matzo Ballin': A Christmas Eve Bash for the Chosen People, Miami New Times, December 22, 2011
  48. 1 2 Haley Thomas, Matzo Ball, Charleston City Paper, December 24, 2012
  49. 1 2 Matzo Ball, The Post and Courier, December 25, 2012
  50. ↑ Eve Zibart, Matzo Balls on Christmas Eve, Washington Post, December 24, 1993, p. N13
  51. 1 2 Society of Young Jewish Professionals, Events, 2014
  52. 1 2 3 First Person: The Search for the Better Matzo Ball Leads to a Tour of Manhattan Debauchery, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), December 27, 2006
  53. ↑ Deborah Schoeneman, Have a Ball with Matzo or Monster's, New York Post, December 20, 2001
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Society of Young Jewish Professionals, Select Your City, MatzoBall.org, 2009
  55. ↑ What's a Matzo Ball, Anyway?, Nightclub & Bar, Opportunities Publishing, 1996
  56. ↑ http://dc.metromix.com/arts-culture/essay_photo_gallery/23rd-annual-matzoball/1683008/content
  57. ↑ http://dc.metromix.com/arts-culture/essay_photo_gallery/24th-annual-matzo-ball/2375631/content
  58. ↑ Andrew Abramson, Jewish singles in Palm Beach County will spend Christmas Eve mingling at Matzo Ball, Palm Beach Post, December 23, 2008
  59. ↑ Lucy Briggs, Calling all Jewish singles to the 26th annual MatzoBall, The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 19, 2012
  60. ↑ Joanne Apice, MatzoBall celebrates 26 years of helping singles mix and mingle on Christmas Eve, Examiner.com, December 19, 2012
  61. ↑ MatzoBall coming to Buckhead Theatre, Neighbor Newspapers, December 18, 2014
  62. ↑ Jennifer Liss, Latke vs. Matzo: Turf war brewing over S.F. holiday balls, December 17, 2014
  63. ↑ New Michigan law allows Christmas alcohol sales, Associated Press (WXYZ), December 24, 2010
  64. ↑ Taverns in Michigan to Close Christmas Eve, Associated Press (Milwaukee Journal), December 22, 1948, p. 17
  65. ↑ Colorado Sunday, The Denver Post, December 16, 2006
  66. 1 2 Society of Young Jewish Professionals, Matzo Ball Cities, 2013
  67. 1 2 3 Joshua Rosenstein, The battle over a name, The Jewish Sound, December 18, 2004
  68. ↑ Jean-Sebastien Marier, Matzo Ball coming to town at last, The (Montreal) Gazette, December 23, 2009
  69. 1 2 3 4 Daniel Koren, Matzoball 2013: A Quarter Century of Jews Partying Together on Xmas, Shalom Life, December 17, 2013.
  70. 1 2 Press Release, Spark Networks Acquires Schmooz-a-Palooza, OnlineDatingScene, December 7, 2006
  71. 1 2 Schmooz-A-Palooza, 2014 (last modified November 25, 2013)
  72. ↑ Plans Under Way for holiday 'Matzo Ball' in Boca, Elsewhere, Boca Raton/Delray Beach News, November 4, 2007, p. 6A, available via Google News
  73. 1 2 Seeking the perfect Matzo Ball, JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), November 30, 1999
  74. 1 2 'challahbackgirl', Move over Latke Ball, The Ball 2008 is in Town, Jews' Next Dor, December 12, 2008, archived at WebCitation.org
  75. ↑ Press Release, The Ball 2008 in Ft Lauderdale- The Nation's Biggest Jewish Singles Event (Christmas Eve, December 24), EventBrite.com, 2008, archived at WebCitation.org
  76. 1 2 3 Josh Novikoff, Hooking up This Hanukkah?, DCist.com, December 22, 2008
  77. ↑ Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz, Nightlife Agenda, Washington Post, December 20, 2007 ("Correction to This Article: The Ball, originally listed under Dec. 25, has been cancelled.")
  78. ↑ Julie Spira, Jewish Singles Gather in LA to Celebrate the Holidays in Style and Support the Elderly, Huffington Post, December 28, 2009
  79. ↑ Alysia Gray Painter, Mix and Be Merry at The Ball: Jewish singles hobnob in Hollywood on December 24th, NBC Los Angeles, December 23, 2009
  80. ↑ Young Divisions' Holiday Ball, The Guardian (newsletter), Winter 2009, p. 10
  81. ↑ Jeff Strank, Press Release, Christmas Eve Not a Silent Night for 4,000 Jewish Singles at "The Ball", PRWEb.com, December 12, 2012
  82. ↑ Laura Donney, Calendar: December 21-January 3, Los Angeles Jewish Journal, December 19, 2013
  83. ↑ Jewish Singles, Let My People Go, 2014
  84. 1 2 Marcus Riley, Tonight: Eve of Christmas Eve, NBC 5 Chicago, December 23, 2010
  85. 1 2 Sarah Preston, Matzo Tov!, Chicago Magazine blog, December 11, 2008
  86. ↑ Aruna Jain, (December 23, 2004) For Those of Other Faiths, a Not-So-Silent Night Washington Post
  87. 1 2 Emily Jacobs, Falafel Frenzy, Washington Jewish Week, January 3, 2013
  88. 1 2 Detours: Alterna-thrills, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 9, 2006, p. 28, available via Google News/NewsBank
  89. ↑ SCENE: MUSIC / PARTY / CHARITY, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 29, 2005, p. P24, available via NewsBank
  90. ↑ SCENE: NIGHTWATCH: Bagel Bash to tell hole story at Tavern, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 23, 2004, p. P24, available via NewsBank
  91. ↑ Jonathan Barach, Thought You’d Like to Know, The Jewish Georgian, November-December 2009, p. 9
  92. ↑ Olivia Flores Alvarez, The Annual Jewish Community Center Bagel Ball, Houston Press, December 18, 2014
  93. ↑ 5th Annual Holiday Party (Bagel Ball 2014), AllEvents, 2014
  94. 1 2 Holiday parties offer something for everyone — from "Heebonism" to "Mistletoe Madness", Denver Post, December 23, 2011
  95. ↑ Jeff Weiss, Last Night: Strip Dreidel, Christmas Eve Heebonism and Jewjitsu in Palm Springs, LA Weekly, December 28, 2009
  96. ↑ Lisa Rab, How Jews Do Christmas, Westword, December 12, 2008
  97. ↑ Candace Heckman, What if you're Jewish and bored stiff on Christmas Eve?, Seattle Post-Intelligencer - The Big Blog, December 24, 2007
  98. ↑ Latkapalooza, The American Israelite, January 1, 2014
  99. ↑ Jay Firestone, One Jew's Christmas Eve, The Jewish Journal (Los Angeles) - Calendar Girls blog, December 28, 2007
  100. ↑ Leisah Woldoff, Mazelpalooza rolls out red carpet for YJP, Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, November 21, 2008
  101. 1 2 3 Elizabeth Blair, The Master List: The Best Things to Do in Dallas This Holiday Weekend, Dallas Observer, December 23, 2011
  102. 1 2 3 The Matzah Ball, Jewish Community Center of Dallas, 2014
  103. ↑ Samantha Nelson, 8 Holiday Parties, Chicago RedEye, December 13, 2013
  104. ↑ Kevin Friduss, The Official Matzo Bash 2013 in Chicago!, Examiner.com, November 5, 2013
  105. ↑ Twelve24: Orlando's Jewish party of the year, Heritage Florida Jewish News, December 20, 2013
  106. ↑ Religion Notes, Las Vegas Review Journal, December 17, 2011
  107. ↑ Rick Lax, I Get Paid for This: Kicking Ass and Taking Notes in Vegas, Huntington Press, 2011, p. PT 119
  108. ↑ Light it Up (Formerly the Bagel Ball), JCC of Southern Nevada, 2014
  109. ↑ Friends of the IDF, JCLE to host Wrap Up Bash, Cleveland Jewish News, December 18, 2014
  110. ↑ Alysia Gray Painter, Social and Seasonal: Schmooz-a-Palooza: Jewish singles will gather at Red O for a festive mixer of glammed-out proportions, NBC 4, December 20, 2013
  111. ↑ JDate's 16th Annual Schmooz-A-Palooza, JDate.com (2009)
  112. ↑ Keren Engelberg, Have a Holly Jolly Schmooz-fest, Jewish Journal (Los Angeles), December 18, 2003
  113. ↑ Alie Ward, Your week, on a platter: Dec. 24-30 brings you horny Jews and Hamburger combovers, Metromix.com, December 24, 2007
  114. ↑ Calendar: December 21 - January 3, The Jewish Journal, December 19, 2013
  115. ↑ Ryan Torok, Chanukah events around Los Angeles, Los Angeles Jewish Journal, December 18, 2011
  116. ↑ Get Out There!, The Dallas Morning News, December 22, 2008, available via Google News Archives/NewsBank
  117. ↑ Weekly Planner, The Dallas Morning News, December 15, 2001, available via Google News Archives/NewsBank
  118. ↑ Katey Margolis, Kosher Kisses, Dallas Observer, December 23, 2009
  119. ↑ Mike Levy, Calendar, (Los Angeles) Jewish Journal, May 10, 2001
  120. ↑ And To All a Good Night, New York Times, December 23, 2009
  121. ↑ Brooklyn Bowl's First Annual Matzah Bowl! - Inaugural Tribal Music Festival, Brooklyn Bowl, 2009
  122. ↑ Steve Dershowitz, From the Prexy's Computer, in Temple Beth Torah Times, June 2008
  123. ↑ KSUViolet06, What's your big thing(s)?, GreekChat.com, August 15, 2004
  124. ↑ Kansas City Star, March 31, 2004, p. 24, available via NewsBank
  125. ↑ Rick Hellman, Nordaunian AZA alumni plan reunion alongside Matzo Ball, Kansas City Jewish Chronicle, April 2, 2010
  126. ↑ Amy Winn, Find Fun at Place on 'Fring of Christmas' , Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 23, 2002, p. 1E

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