Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights. This year it coincides with Christmas, starting at sundown on December 25th.
(Note: Some who have read my occasional tirades against organized religion (like here.) might find this post curious. But I felt that it was something that I wanted to do, especially since my 7 year old is abundantly aware of being out of the mainstream during the holiday season.)
The holiday celebrates the rededication of the Temple and miracle of one days’s worth of oil lasting eight days. (The oil was used to light a candelabra in the Temple) These were occasioned by the military victory against Syrian Greek forces. Link The Greeks were attempting to impose their culture on the Jews. Although the military victory is not emphasized, the resultant freedom is.
But this isn’t intended as a history lesson. That is something for others much more qualified.
Growing up, my family always observed the usual customs of the holiday. We lit the menorah for eight nights, starting with one candle and gradually adding one each night. (There is a place for a ninth candle but that is used to light the others.) On the eighth night all eight are lit. There are also brief blessings/prayers that accompany the lighting of the candles.
My mother made latkes or potato pancakes for us. I always ate these with sour cream (Never applesauce. Sorry, AndiF!)
Gifts were never given the emphasis that seems to have taken hold lately. We would usually get a single gift or possibly a few small gifts. In proof of that, after all these years, I find that few are actually memorable. The only one that stands out is the portable 8-track player that I received. (8-tracks!!! boran2, you’re, like, older than Yoda!) I supose that with 5 kids, my parents didn’t have lots of funds to splurge though I’m not sure that things would have been terribly different had they been wealthy.
Tomorrow, my child will light the candles. We’ll say the blessings and have latkes. (My wife prefers applesauce with hers. How barbaric!) My son will get a few gifts, more than I would have received but still rather less than more. And the cycle will continue.
Oh, my son has noted the great disparity between Christmas and Chanukah acknowledgements. I’ve taken great pains to point out Chanukah menorahs when we pass one. I’ve explained that there are less Jews. But one day he will fully realize, that even here in New York, he is a minority. I can’t actually remember making that realization myself but I’m sure that it won’t be easy for him.
…not a creature was stirring, not even a mischievous 7 year old boy.
Thank you for sharing this Boran…we each learn from the other.
Blessings of the seasons for you and your family.
The Jewish lunar and the secular solar calendars aligned almost as well in 1986.
That year, my daughter was almost one. She didn’t understand what was up, but she obviously enjoyed candles and latkes and even the blessings, and perhaps the gifts. Credit her with timing, her birthday is New Year’s Eve. Eighth evening of Chanukah that year was December 31, so all 9 candles on the menorah, presents, then the birthday cake, Yay, another candle, and more presents.
So, on January first, guess whose reaction to no candles or presents or blessings was appropriate, if inarticulate, consternation?
It’s a lovely diary boran2. And as we’ve both discussed before Judaism is a religion of family and community and it’s that aspect of both Hanukkah and the passover seder that keeps this secular Jew participating in those two religious family celebrations.
(We always had brisket with the latkes when I was a kid so no sour cream, even if it weren’t true that applesauce is better.)
Our 2005 family celebration
are best accompanied by mango chutney. People who put other things on them are just plain wrong.
Happy Hannukah! 😀
Is being a minority bad or wrong? Or lucky and special?
It is special but never easy for a young child.
I was stepparent to a child who was half Chinese, half Caucasian. I’m Cauc. I simply figured I had to get to him before the street did. I had to instill positive meanings to it all before others could begin putting him down about it.
I figured if countless generations of African American parents could figure out ways to raise their kids with positive self-esteem, given all the hurdles their kids would run up against, I could figure it out.
I told him that gajillions of kids were part something, part something else. I’m, for instance, a bunch of different Cauc ethnicities. Told him some Cauc’s would not like him because of the Chinese half. Some Chinese people would not like him because of the Cauc. half. But that his job was to ignore them, to know they’d just shown him that they were not too smart, not kind at all, and not wise at all.
And so forth. I started when he was 4-ish, I wanted to get to him before others did, certainly before he started school. I tried to present the world as a rich stew of wonderful diversity. Him fitting into a wonderful tapestry of differences, vs him having some burden to bear. How he was lucky to have these different cultures to draw on.
I wanted him to know it was OK to ignore prejudiced people, he had no reason to give them credibility, or participate in their needs to hate/ hurt others.
As one of my aunts said, “Some people like people who’re different, some people don’t.” She banded together with a group of neighbors to create one of the first integrated n’hoods in St. Louis.
I always liked her summary. In part because it seems to me to point the way to, “Why not spend time with those who do?” Big world, many choices.
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I might also add, as a child I was labeled “too skinny, too smart, and too white”, so being of one ethnicity, or the dominant local ethnicity is no guarantee you’ll avoid being beset upon.