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The holiday of Chanukah starts tonight. Usually, around this time of year, I post something to remind people that Chanukah is really a minor festival, and I point people at my Amazon Wish List. :-) Last year's post, The Holiday Season, can be found at the link for anyone who wants to read it again. For today, I want to talk about something else, which is Chanukah and the kids.
A few people have asked me how we plan to celebrate the holiday tonight for the kids. My answer is that we'll light the first candle, and that's about it. :-) The kids still aren't old enough to really understand the holidays, although they do seem to have learned that shabbat is special. (When we give them their blessings, they will sometimes anticipate us by putting their own hands on their heads. Once, Squeaker even put her hands on my head.) Family have given us some presents for the kids, and we'll probably give them the soft presents so they can enjoy unwrapping them, if they can figure it out. (One of Muffin's favorite games is to take a lot of newspaper pages, rip them up, and then hand me each piece as she rips it. Very important to hand me the pieces, of course. Then she cackles.) But I doubt they're at a point yet when they'll understand the significance of the holiday. Given the clothes and toys they get on a regular basis from family and friends, as far as they're concerned, every day is Chanukah.
So Nomi and I will light the candles this week, sing the songs, and maybe feed the kids some potato pancakes. Next year, I imagine they'll have a better idea of what everything means.
A few people have asked me how we plan to celebrate the holiday tonight for the kids. My answer is that we'll light the first candle, and that's about it. :-) The kids still aren't old enough to really understand the holidays, although they do seem to have learned that shabbat is special. (When we give them their blessings, they will sometimes anticipate us by putting their own hands on their heads. Once, Squeaker even put her hands on my head.) Family have given us some presents for the kids, and we'll probably give them the soft presents so they can enjoy unwrapping them, if they can figure it out. (One of Muffin's favorite games is to take a lot of newspaper pages, rip them up, and then hand me each piece as she rips it. Very important to hand me the pieces, of course. Then she cackles.) But I doubt they're at a point yet when they'll understand the significance of the holiday. Given the clothes and toys they get on a regular basis from family and friends, as far as they're concerned, every day is Chanukah.
So Nomi and I will light the candles this week, sing the songs, and maybe feed the kids some potato pancakes. Next year, I imagine they'll have a better idea of what everything means.
