I can’t claim to know much of anything about Hanukkah. Being raised Catholic, my faith has been taught through generations before me and will be introduced to generations after me through our Church, Catholic schools, and family.
Regardless, I’ve always been fascinated by Judaism. For reasons unknown to me, I’ve always just felt drawn to the history of Judaism and its people. Their history has gone through its ups, downs, and all manner of twists and turns throughout the years. Just like Catholicism. Additionally, they’ve been persecuted time and again, continuing into the present day, which is downright disgusting!
Most people are the most familiar with WWII; and the Holocaust. Over 6 million Jewish people were murdered. It is and remains one of the most horrendous tragedies in modern times. That was less than 100 years ago when an entire population was almost wholly annihilated.
I can’t even imagine. There is an exhibit currently ongoing through March of 2022 that my husband & I will be attending in December called “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.” at the Kansas City, Missouri Union Station. If Declan and Tristan were older, I would be bringing them. It’s something that should never be forgotten, as hard as it is to remember and comprehend.
It’s necessary to keep Judaism alive and well; and help families learn as much about the religion as possible! That’s where PJ Library comes in!
PJ Library is a vast program that delivers over 680,000 free Jewish storybooks to kids the world over each month!! Sign up right here!
The program helps Jewish families of all backgrounds learn about their religion, the reasons and traditions behind Hanukkah. They also have many other resources to help families who already practice the Jewish faith or are just introducing their children aged birth to 12 about their faith.
There are gift ideas of all sorts! Books, coloring pages, aprons, recipes, and more! Hanukkah is just one identifying holiday celebrated in the Jewish faith, and PJ Library is a go-to resource for anyone wanting to learn more about it or other Jewish traditions!
This year, Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights, runs from November 28th through December 6th. After doing some research on Bing, as I will not claim to know much about Jewish holiday traditions, I gleaned that most Hanukkah celebrations utilize the same few necessities each time.
The basics:
Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days each year, with varying dates based on the Hebrew calendar based on the moon’s lunar cycles. A candle is lit on the menorah each night of Hanukkah; the menorah holds eight candles. In ancient times, the story goes that the Jewish priest Mattathias and his sons lit a menorah but only had enough oil for one night. In the fashion of true miracles, the menorah stayed lit for eight days.
As is tradition with most religions that I know of, families can prepare particular foods if they choose to do so. Some foods are sweet treats, jelly-filled donuts (fried, of course!), casserole dishes, stew, or fish.
Another more recent tradition for Hanukkah is the exchanging of gifts, though apparently, that’s much more of a Westernized tradition since Hanukkah falls so closely in line with the celebrations of Christmas. Kids also receive chocolate coins that they can use throughout the eight days of celebration to play the Dreidel game.
Different families will choose to celebrate Hanukkah differently, as is the case with most traditions. You make it how you want it to be celebrated, which is the BEST way to celebrate! You and your family are making the memories, after all!
Now that we’ve covered the basics of Hanukkah (thank you, LearnReligions.com!), do you have any unique ways you celebrate Hanukkah? I do not, currently. In the future, I think it would be an excellent way for me to introduce other religions at home to my kids as they begin to grow. I want them to be accepting of all different types of people, including their beliefs!
This is the first time I’ve written up a post on Hanukkah. A big thank you goes out to Michael with Foundry Communications and Beth with Sugar Mountain PR for alerting me to PJ Library and all of the excellent resources they offer for families! I also received communications from Vicki with Vickigj PR in October, alerting me to this fantastic site as well!
I’d love to hear from any of you if you have any special Hanukkah traditions! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Love ya,
Kelly Ann
PS – November was QUITE the busy month for me; but I’m happy to report that NO NEGATIVITY NOVEMBER went well! Did it for you?!
Hashtags to use if you choose to share: #hanukkah2021 #hanukkah #traditions #jewish #faith #judaism #celebrate #gifts #food #resources #recipes #library #pjlibrary #livinglovingandexploring #books #learning #information #eightdays #menorah #miracle #tradition #faith #history
I loved it! Nice work!
Thanks so much, Jacqueline!! I appreciate that!