Let’s not mince words: Millions of Jews on planet earth are about to celebrate what technically is the welcoming into the covenant of Abraham for a guy who would grow up and alternatively be called: a carpenter from the Galilee, an itinerant preacher, a rabble rouser, the son of God, God and the Messiah.

I speak, of course, of the one who would be called to the Torah as Yeshua ben-Yosef, aka Jesus, son of Joseph.

If that’s the case, how can any of us American Jews who struggle to maintain the path of Moses celebrate this event – even if most Christians see no religious significance whatsoever to the day? After all, it’s not our holiday. It’s theirs. Besides, this year it merges into Shabbat, which is infinitely more important and should be given preparation of its own.

It’s pretty simple actually. The truth of the matter is that at 1.8 percent of the U.S. population, it is impossible to avoid the broader culture. As such, the challenge is to incorporate into it our own lifestyles. That’s why this year, as in years past, my family will gather with those of friends tomorrow night to do what we do ever year around this time: Hang out, eat kosher food, watch a movie, have a “Dance, Dance, Dance Revolution” competition and eat too much dessert.

It’s not a booze fest. It’s not a time for resolutions. It’s not a time to recount the trials and tribulations of the past 12 months. We already did that (or at least gave some thought to doing that) on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Rather, we are going to celebrate being together, as we always should when within elbow distance.

And in doing so, some of us will wish each other a “happy new year,” and none of us will be offended by it. That’s because we all do want to have a healthy, joyous 2010 – which would be a nice complement to our 5770.

As for those resolutions, I like to think back on the ones I made around the Jewish New Year to see how I’m doing. OK on that front, but definitely not good enough. Such is life.

Most importantly, because I know this crowd, we’ll see each other in our Conservative synagogue about 36 hours later.

So happy whatever you want to make of it.