While Jewish Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers are settling in for a night of Chinese takeout and movies this Christmas Eve, the Jewish urban 18-34 crowd will be dancing and flirting the night away at the 31stannual MatzoBall – multi-city lavish parties at top nightclub venues, where young Jewish singles party till dawn with the hope of findingthe one.
It all began when founder, Andy Rudnick, organized his first Christmas Eve bash at a Boston University-area bar in 1986 for Jewish college students looking for something to do on Christmas Eve (meeting his own wife in the process). It’s become a Jewish rite-of-passage, filled with stories about some lucky partygoers actually finding their bashert, getting married and “making their own little matzoballs” and Rudnick puts it.
For many families, it’s even become a multi-generational tradition. Parents met at a MatzoBall party in decades past, and in recent years their children are attending in the hopes of lightning striking a second time.
Traditional Jewish values when it comes to dating and relationships hold a couple’s courtship as sacred and purposeful. Chabad.org describes dating as, “The process whereby a man and woman meet, become acquainted with each other and decide whether they are suitable for each other.”
It continues that “many people are discovering the wisdom of serious dating and focusing on compatibility. A good place to start is in the hub of your local Jewish community.” The MatzoBall is that very hub, where young Jewish singles looking for the one congregate in a fun, social, party atmosphere to meet other Jewish singles, to expand their social and romantic prospects, sans Internet or dating apps.
MatzoBall Parties/Venues This December 24th in 9 Cities:
New York City, Capitale
Miami, Story
Ft. Lauderdale, The Vibe-Las Olas
Delray Beach, Il Baccio
Philadelphia, Rumor
Boston, Royale
Dallas, Stirr
Los Angeles, TBA
Washington, DC, Decades
Media’s Take on MatzoBall in Years Past:
“With no tradition of leaving cookies for Santa, no church to attend and no expectation of presents in the morning, Christmas Eve used to hold little to look forward to for non-Christians — until the Matzo Ball and other night-before-Christmas parties.” – NBC News
“In the 28 years since the Matzo Ball debuted in Boston, it’s become an annual rite of passage for single Jews in their twenties and thirties.” – Cosmopolitan
“The MatzoBall is the season’s hottest Not-Christmas party.” – Joel Stein, Bloomberg Businessweek
“MatzoBall launched in Boston in 1987 when founder Andrew Rudnick organized a party for his Jewish friends on Christmas Eve— and since then, it’s grown to over 3,000 people in its biggest locations, like New York and Miami.” – The Daily Mail
“Here’s where all the Jews are hanging out on Christmas Eve.” – CNN Money
What Past MatzoBallers Have to Say:
“Years ago I met a girl when I lived in New York at a MatzoBall event. I dated her for a year thanks to the MatzoBall.” – Paul Heller, Miami, Florida
“I met my boyfriend, Jared, at MatzoBall Miami last year. We met at my friends table and just really hit it off.” -Shereidy Mancheno, Miami, Florida
“I want to thank you and the rest of the MatzoBall team for such an amazing event. [My girlfriend] Sydney and I have been dating ever since, and she will be moving to New York to live in the same city as I do once she graduates college this year!!” – Brandon Robinson, New York, New York
I attended the MatzoBall for the fourth consecutive Christmas Eve in Miami, and what I love and value about the event is that even if you do not find love, you are able to have an incredible time with your friends and form long-lasting, meaningful relationships with others. – Henry Eff, New York, New York
“My parents both grew up in Philadelphia, and although they lived close to each other in Philly, (and my mom’s eye doctor was my dad’s dad!) they never met until one magical night in Boca Raton. About thirty years ago, my parents both attended the MaztoBall at Club Boca. They met through a mutual friend, and my parents have been happily married for 27 years and have three daughters (we call ourselves matzo babies).” – Blair Cohen, Boca Raton, Florida
