Celebrating Hanukkah

Our family is a blend of religions that works for us pretty well.  My husband, Dan, is Catholic, and I was raised in the Jewish faith.  We celebrate selected holidays of both religions, trying to teach our children the elements of religion and how to be good people.  Our goal is to raise our kids to be adults who are open to experiencing the world, and not only tolerant, but supportive of people who are different from them. 

I was raised in suburban New York, in an area with a large Jewish community.  It was a cultural shock when I moved to the South for college, and ever since I have not met another Jewish person that I know of.  Even though my knowledge of Judaism is not what it should be, I am accustomed to sharing what little bit I know with friends and family, because so many people I know have never had a Jewish friend before. 

Despite not meeting many other people who share my faith, the Hanukkah celebration is still familiar  to most people.  I could always find candles for the menorah, dreidels, and Hanukkah decorations at stores like Target, Harris-Teeter, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. 

When we moved we did not bring our gazillion boxes of various holiday decorations, because we weren't sure how much space we would have for storage in our new place.  But I did bring the kids' menorah, one dreidel, some wrapping paper, and a teddy bear that sings the dreidel song. 

Unfortunately, I was not able to find menorah candles anywhere, or a single item relating to the celebration of Hanukkah in any store I searched.  Absolutely nothing.  Needless to say that I am extremely disappointed by this and it has left me wondering about the current presence of Jews in German society. 

 

So, we made an alternative menorah using tea lights and I felt a deeper sense of importance that the children need to learn the words to the prayers we recited each night.  We made latkes, found some Hanukkah songs on ITunes Radio, and I printed some themed holiday coloring pages.  I also visited Ryan's class and we taught the kids how to play dreidel. 

There is much more that could be said on this topic, but for now, Hannukah is done, and it is time to move on to the traditions and festivities of my husband's faith. 

 

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season, and that all of your celebrations are merry and bright.