I just wanted to give a shout out to all of my Jewish friends out there and wish them a Happy Hanukkah! I think it's great that some cultures celebrate this time of year for 8 full days instead of just one! Eight days of presents.......hmmmmm......sorry, I got a little sidetracked! So I did a little wikipedia search on Hanukkah and found out a lot of interesting facts! For example, Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights (I already knew this thanks to Adam Sandler) and is a celebration of the re-dedication of the second temple at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. I'm not really sure what this is but it just may end up as the object of my next post! Hanukkah is observed by lighting lights on each night of the eight day holiday. The eight days of lighting candles isn't symbolic of "lighting the house within" per say but for the "illumination of the house without" to remind passers-by of the holiday. From what I read there are various rituals that are performed throughout these eight days that really keep people focused on the Spirit of the holiday.
To be honest I really don't have any Jewish friends (besides Neil Diamond but I don't know if they count as a friend if they don't know who you are), nor am I investigating Judaism, but I looked on my little calendar and it said that today marks the first day of Hanukkah. I've never really learned too much about this holiday so I thought I'd see what it's all about. It seems to me that although Jews don't celebrate this time of year for the same reason as Christians, it appears that they certainly do keep the religious aspect of the holiday as their main focus. I love this time of year because of the Spirit of Giving that pops up EVERYWHERE! I hope that we can all be mindful of the real motivation behind some of our traditions and be cognizant of those around us who are in need.
Zot Hanukkah!
6 comments:
Shalom (hello and peace), my cousin. Kov tul (Be Well) and L'hitraot (See you soon).
I do have many Jewish friends and learned many things from them. Speaking Hebrew, however, was not one of them.
Seriously, you're killin' me.
I've been thinking about this and laughing all day. Kandis, you CRACK me up!
I'm so proud that you are thinking of things like this instead of just "What am I getting for Christmas." Maybe you really are growing up!!!!!!!!!! Sorry I didn't expose you to many cultural things growing up. But as you know, I'm pretty shallow. But I do agree with you about Neil. Now that was some good teaching!!
Hi Kandis how was Texas? I tried to see 'This Christmas' the other day but it got trumped by another movie because Jeff doesn't really want to see it. If it's still showing this weekend I'm going. Jeff will be out of town so if you want to go with me let me know!
P.S. Tell your mother that she is the least shallow person I have ever known!!...and to go see 'Dan in Real Life' :)
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