SUGGESTIONS FOR FAMILY CELEBRATIONS

Children adore the holiday of Chanukah and love to repeat family traditions over and over. Stick with what your family loves, and consider adding some of the following:

1. Try a new latke or sufganiyot recipe.
2. Invite another family to share a Chanukah meal with yours.
3. Add to your Jewish book collection -- read stories aloud each night after candlelighting.
4. Discuss some of the themes of Chanukah: What would you fight for? Are we ever obligated to fight? Have you ever felt without hope? What have you done that you thought was impossible? How are we like the Maccabees? How are we different?
5. Create a Chanukah theme album. Select a theme for this year, i.e., “Freedom,” “Don’t Let the Light Go Out,” etc. Find something to write, read, give or do each day connected to the theme, and include it in your Chanukah album.
6. Make an “edible dreidel” for dessert using kosher marshmallows and a chocolate kiss stuck together with a thin pretzel stick.
7. Allow all members of the family to light their own chanukiyah each night.
8. Make an oil-burning chanukiyah with an aluminum foil base, nine votive candle holders, wicks, and olive oil.
9. Play a Chanukah tape -- we love Margie and Ilene’s Just in Time for Chanukah!
10. Role-play the Chanukah story. There are lots of great characters, including soldiers with swords, shields and helmets!

NEW TRADITIONS FOR OLD HOLIDAYS

Here are some more ideas to radiate the light of the Chanukah candles:

• Cook dinner for a Ronald McDonald House. Call ahead to schedule a night to prepare a meal, either in their kitchen or yours, for families who are staying near their children who are hospitalized.

• Collect “gelt” each night of Chanukah to give to tzedakah.

• Purchase extra food items as you shop in preparation for festive Chanukah meals. Donate the items to the Jewish Community Pantry

• Use allowance or other money to purchase gifts for the “Toys for Tots” toy drive.

• Dedicate one night of Chanukah as “Tzedakah Night.” Open no gifts for yourselves this night, and use the money you would have spent to help others.

• Choose a theme for each night of Chanukah: 

• Consciousness of Everyday Miracles. According to the Chanukah story, there was only enough oil to last one day. Who possessed the faith to light that light? Who brings light to our lives? In whose honor could we light our first candle?

• Jewish Pride and Identity. As the Maccabees resisted pressure to assimilate into Greek society and forgo their Judaism, so may we proudly celebrate our identities on Chanukah. This is a good time to add a mezuzah to doors at home or the office.

• Self-dedication. The word “Chanukah” means dedication. To what can we dedicate ourselves?

• Purifying and Cleansing. The Temple had been defiled, made tamei (impure) by Antiochus and his soldiers. The Jews were able to purify the Beit HaMikdash, to cleanse and renew its holiness. Are there actions we can take to get closer to our own pure states?

• Gratitude for Independence of the State of Israel. The victories of Chanukah granted the Jews independence in their homeland. Especially in this heart-wrenching, difficult time, how can we better connect to and support the State of Israel and our brothers and sisters who live there?

• Appreciate the Moment. We kindle the Chanukah candles only to appreciate their light. They are to be used for no other purpose. Take some time to gaze at the flames. Perhaps the candles can teach us to step back, take a breath, and appreciate the light of a moment.

• Hope. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” The hope of light in the darkness of winter is an aspect of Chanukah shared by many cultures. How can we renew hope for ourselves and for those who share our world?

• Jewish Institutions. The Temple in Jerusalem that the Maccabees rededicated on Chanukah was the Jewish institution par excellance. It was the center of Jewish life in its time. In our time, federations, synagogues, day schools, and homes for the aged strive to support our values and keep our spiritual light aglow. Which Jewish institutions have made a difference in your life? Now is a good time to give them support, financially or with a gift of your time and energy.