Chanukah begins tomorrow night at sundown and Christmas is less than a week away. For weeks (months?), the streets have been filled with Christmas lights and holiday decorations. Every morning when my alarm goes off, Christmas songs fill my bedroom and my head with falalalalas. Cable channels, like Lifetime and Hallmark, have been running non-stop merry maudlin holiday movie marathons, and I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't seen more than a few.
I'm a sucker for this time of year. My close friends know that G-d made me Jewish so that I would not spend the 11 other months of the year sewing stockings and Christmas tree skirts! Seriously, if I had been Christian, I would have been all over the crafty part of Christmas. As it is, I invented ways to craft for Chanukah.
When the kids were little, it annoyed me that all the Chanukah decorations I found were plastic and paper. Nothing seemed permanent or special. There was nothing that one would treasure and pass down to his/her own children someday. So, to rectify that, I designed and sewed Dreidel Bags for each of my own children as well as my nieces and nephews and cousins and the children of my friends. Each one-of-a-kind felt bag contained a dreidel (which is a little toy top for those of you who are dreidel virgins), marbles to be used as currency (we use quarters at my parents' house) and a little laminated instruction card with all the rules for the simple little game.
I also made a bright felt table runner for our home so that every year I could pull it out to signal the start of the holiday season. I don't know exactly how old it is, but it has held up remarkably well!
Of course there are all the usual suspects too: latkes (fried potato pancakes), presents, chocolate Chanukah gelt and of course, the star of the show: the menorah. When I was a very new mom, (it may have even been Josh's first Chanukah) my parents gave me an amazing present. Growing up, we had owned a very large menorah which took large tapered candles rather than the usual mini candles that most menorahs require. I loved that menorah, and I loved the fact that it took up so much space (not as much space as a Christmas tree--but you definitely couldn't ignore it!). Somehow, my parents found a handyman who thought he could make a giant menorah. They commissioned him to try and I was the very lucky recipient of his efforts.
It is definitely a conversation starter since most people are not used to seeing a menorah of that stature. I will say that it is much more expensive to fill this menorah with candles for eight nights, but I wouldn't trade it for one of those puny little normal menorahs for anything!
I know that there are plenty of Christmas traditions that I cannot borrow, but there are a few that I will happily admit to enjoying. I LOVE gingerbread and gingerbread houses. When we were little, some woman who has long since passed away used to send one to our family every year. I thought it was hysterical because my dad is a Rabbi and she was a congregant who must have known that this was a bit outside the norm for our tradition. However, I couldn't wait for that beautifully decorated house to arrive each December.
I am also incredibly fond of Christmas music and movies. Even though they do not represent me, I cherish the sweet, sentimental messages they espouse. Of course I've never owned a Christmas tree, or a Chanukah bush, but when my friends have invited me to their homes to help decorate theirs or just have a drink beside one, I easily shift into the holiday mood and soak up the twinkly lights and the fresh clean scent of pine.
Mostly, the holidays are a time to celebrate the magic that life offers to us every day; it reminds us to stop for a moment to unwrap it. I wish you a holiday season filled with warmth and mirth, sweet traditions and abundant tables, the joy of giving and receiving, and lots of love!
No comments:
Post a Comment