Happy first night of Hanukkah! We enjoy pulling out a menorah at this time and letting the kids hear about the story of Hanukkah as well as play a fun dreidel game. This may seem out of the ordinary as we do not attend a Jewish synagogue, but we figure that Jesus was Jewish and my husband's ancestors were also Jewish, so why not?
I spent some formative years growing up in California where Jewish songs were common at the "Christmas Concerts" at the elementary schools. I have always had an interest in Hanukkah, have collected menorahs pretty much my whole life and even remember the songs we sang at the concerts.
Tonight, we let our youngest son light up the first candle of the menorah after my husband told us the Hanukkah story. He was so excited to have a candle, he blew it out three times. Everyone thought it was pretty funny and he sure was proud of himself for doing it. I wonder how he will do tomorrow night when the next person gets to light it and he does not!
Then we let the kids play with dreidels for a little while. They use pennies as the prize and get really into it.
If you are celebrating Hanukkah tonight, we wish you a blessed time. May the Lord richly bless you and reveal Himself to you.
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
Come light the menorah
Let’s have a party
We’ll all dance the hora
Gather ’round the table
We’ll give you a treat
Sivivon to play with and latkes to eat
.
And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
to remind us of days long ago
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
to remind us of days long ago.