Though Tyson doesn’t much care for holidays, he will occasionally join his family for Chanukah.
With both Jethro and Tyson being largely non-observant in their Judaism, it was hardly ever going to be an orthodox celebration. The most noticeable change is that Beyblades are sharing a space with the dreidel.
Though James is interested in his Jewishness and their traditions, it was obvious to every adult in the room that he had no interest in playing with the dreidel. Knowing that his nephew watched and enjoyed the anime, Tyson excused himself to go walk the dogs and returned with a group of Beyblades from the local newsagents.
A spinning top is a spinning top, at the end of the day. The game is different and the overtly Jewish symbolism is gone, but that didn’t matter to Tyson’s family. It was a game they could play that kept the spirit of the holiday.
Their menorah is always traditionally Jewish as is their food and the trip to Synagogue. The dreidel stays beside the menorah and the Beyblades are brought out of their box to play with, a little tradition just for them. Something to bring them together.
When Tyson went out during Chanukah 2012, he originally came back with four Beyblades from the (at the time) current series/toy line, Metal Fury: Cosmic Pegasus F:D for James, Fang Leone 130W2D for himself, Blitz Striker 100SF for Rosie, & Meteo L-Drago LW105LF for Yithrô.
Since then, one Beyblade is added to the box every year: Bandit Genbu F230TB is never used and is committed to the memory of John Delaney, Rock Orso D125B became Jasmine’s, Cyber Aquario 105RF became Charlie’s, Twisted Tempo 145WD, & Driger MS was the latest to be added in 2017.
