In 2021, the Matzo Ball proceeded with in-person events in seven U.S. cities under the local government pandemic restrictions in place, in addition to a simultaneous online speed dating alternative that night.
[22][29][30][31][32][24][25] 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 of solitude into one made to gather, socialize, catch up with old friends, network, drink, flirt, and romance.
"[40] 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.
[25] While some party-goers admit that they attend with an eye toward flirting, romance, or at least finding a short-term makeout or sexual partner, others maintain that they go only to spend time with friends, dance, drink cocktails, and because of a lack of other options on Christmas Eve.
[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.
[6][31] 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.
[20][29][49] He and his friends built up awareness of the upcoming event through word of mouth, especially through fraternities and sororities with Jewish memberships, posters, and flyers hand-distributed, including at malls.
[6][24] After a successful repeat of the event on Christmas Eve 1988, Rudnick expanded to New York and Boca Raton in 1989, and added Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles in 1990.
[29][40][57][58][59] Attendance at the New York event can average from 1,100 to 1,700 people,[29][60] with an entry line forming outside the venue 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.
[21] Rudnick and SYJP have also experimented with a variety of other activities, including Christmas Day pool parties at the same hotel as the Miami Matzo Ball, after-work networking events, singles cruises, Valentine's Day and Passover-linked parties, a magazine, a video dating service, and, in 2015, a dating app called MatzoMatch that used LinkedIn profiles instead of Facebook profiles as the underlying content source so as to allow for filtering by education and work.
[56][74][75] The Matzo Ball is open to the public,[47] and couples, older people, and non-Jews looking for a Christmas Eve activity are welcome to attend,[20][22][70][47][36][43] "though, obviously, it caters largely to young people who aren't spending Christmas Eve with their families or at church"[40] and the targeted demographic is "single Jewish men and women looking to meet each other in an environment that's conducive to having a good time.
[20][78][79][42] Rudnick rejects the aspects previously associated with Jewish social events, including name tags, announcements, and live bands, because they would be a distraction from mingling, and can inhibit conversation.
[6][56][59][43] Rudnick believes that using nightclubs as a venue helps to ensure that the attendees enjoy their night even if they don't make a romantic connection.
[47] Events held at more customary locations of the past for Jewish singles events, like synagogues or hotel ballrooms, or with more formal matchmaking features like name tags and formal conversation times, can lead to an undue stress on meeting a long-term partner, while a nightclub with dancing and music is more likely to lead to a good time regardless of romantic outcome.
[43] Rudnick and SYJP have experimented with expanding 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.
[110] 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.
[112] In Washington, D.C., a competitor and alternative to the Matzo Ball since 1994 has been the Gefilte Fish Gala, an event with no admission charge but only a requested donation.
[25] 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.
[117] By 2015, Bagel Bash was succeeded by Gozapalooza, and faced competition from the return of the Matzo Ball and a music event called the Jew Jam.
[15] Nationally, Heebonism organizers sought to offer a more "culturally substantive" and non-conformist event, with activities including "strip dreidel", video games, and light food.
[127] 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.
[128] In 2010, Heeb ceased production of its magazine and became an online only publication but publisher Josh Neuman stated that the entity still intended to organize its annual Christmas eve Heebonism parties.
Jewish community groups in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York jointly sponsored a virtual event on December 23 that included a speed dating component, through the Trybal Gatherings initiative.
[182] Many Jewish community organizations nationwide likewise again did not hold a Christmas Eve event in 2021, but some revived their events—whether as normal though with a vaccination requirement to attend (Chicago[183][184] and San Francisco[185][186]), or moved to December 23 because of Shabbat on December 24 (Austin,[187][188] Denver,[189][190] and Phoenix[191]), or converted into a set of local Shabbat dinners in conjunction with the organization OneTable (Cincinnati[192][193][194]).
[197][198][199][200][201] In 2022, the relative calm in the pandemic situation[202] saw the reemergence of numerous local community Christmas Eve singles events on December 24.
Newly introduced to Calgary was its 'Jewdo - Festivus for the Rest of Us' event,[230][231] and to San Diego's was the 'Not Your Bubbe's Hannukah Party', organized by Moishe House La Jolla and the Mazal Collective.
[93] After a period of sponsorship in the mid-2010s by the Canadian unit of the Jewish National Fund and organized by Magen Boys Entertainment,[93] as of 2018 it is sponsored by the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.
[91] The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles entertainment division organized a late spring "Matzah Bowl" event for a number of years, beginning in 1996.
[258] 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.
"[101][261][35] 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.