Hanukkah

Hanukkah is one of a few Jewish holidays that I usually celebrate in some form.  I try to light candles for at least *one* of the eight nights.  I've developed sort of a tradition where I'll call my parents before I light the candles, and then we sing the songs and whatnot together over the phone.  It's fun, and it gives me a sense of family and togetherness while "on my own" in San Diego.  Today I'm up in the Bay Area with my parents, so we got to do the candle lighting together in person!  My aunt and uncle (sort of) and my parents' good friends from Israel were here too, so it was very fun.

For me, Hanukkah has always been about family, friends, candle lighting, latkes (potato pancakes)...  Growing up we would do at least one night of Hanukkah with a big group of friends/family, with each family lighting their own menorah.  It was always such a blast, with good food and lots of singing and laughing. 

I haven't held on to a lot of Jewish traditions, but Hanukkah is one that I think I will always want in my life.  It's special to me, and there's a lot of nostalgia tied to it.  I'm sure that as we start a family we'll start our own Hanukkah traditions, and create something special for our kids to blog about someday!  :)

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