Hanukkah started last night at sundown and ends on December 22, so don’t forget to light your menorah and remember to honor the Bondi and Brown victims.
May the lights of Hanukkah usher in a better world for all of us.
This photo was taken from the top of my street where I’m able to see the setting sun AND a hint of the Pacific ocean. It’s one of my favorite spots.
🕎 🎄🎅🏻 🌺
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
William Shakespeare
After last night’s horrific anti-Semitic massacre at Bondi Beach in Australia during a Hanukkah celebration and the violence at Brown University in Rhode Island, at least right now, this world we inhabit is not a warm and loving place.
I spent quite a bit of time in Providence while DIL was there getting her doctorate and Angel Boy was at Yale doing the same thing. I walked around the campus and the neighborhood, even Governor Drive where there was a report of another incident which proved to be false.
When AB endured his serious medical scare, he was at the same Rhode Island hospital where the shooting victims were taken because it’s the closest trauma center. These poor kids were simply taking their mid-term exams when they were attacked.
It looks like they have a suspect in custody, but the damage is done. I read that at least two of the students had already witnessed other school shootings.
What a hellish world this is.
Not a lot, except we’ve always celebrated BOTH holidays with highly decorated trees and menorahs and it’s going to be an extra festive week since the first night of Hanukkah starts at sundown on Christmas Day.
The reason why Hanukkah is so late this year is because it follows the Hebrew calendar which is based on the lunar cycle, different from the solar-based Gregorian calendar.
These two holidays converge an average of five times a century, Since 1900, the first night of Hanukkah has fallen on December 25 five times: 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and now 2024.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!
Now it’s a perfect time for some Leon Russell trivia…
Record producer Phil Spector spent several sessions recording a collection of songs with his Wrecking Crew for a Christmas album. One of the greatest moments during those sessions was when “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” was recorded by Darlene Love.
Leon Russell was one of three piano players and Darlene said that Leon got into the song so much “he played a like a man possessed; it was almost like a concerto. He played himself right off the bench and onto the floor and kept playing.” Leon was about twenty years old at the time.
At the same recording session, Cher did some background vocals and Sonny Bono was on percussion!
Enjoy these holiday songs from the one and only Master of Space and Time, Leon Russell…
Not your usual Christmas music, but SO VERY Leon. For you Grateful Dead fans (not me), this was recorded with Jerry Garcia at the Armadillo World Headquarters November 1972.
Tonight’s the first night of Hanukkah and Hello Kitty reminds us to let our light shine!
Our Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.
During Hanukkah 1931, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with Nazi flags.
While it’s definitely a time for serious reflection, it’s also all about fun with latkes, gold coins, dreidels, lots of presents, and this iconic song by Adam Sandler:
Last year’s post about Hanukkah has a lot more info about the historical significance https://enchantedseashells.com/2022/12/19/whats-hanukkah-all-about/
What’s your family’s favorite holiday movie?
I liked It’s a Wonderful Life until I got old enough to figure out that James Stewart’s character stood on the bridge contemplating suicide. Somehow that didn’t seem very happy to me and I didn’t think it was the type of conversation we wanted to have with the Angel Kids.
If you watch Miracle on 34th Street, I recommend the original 1940s black and white version with Natalie Wood.
When everyone was here for Thanksgiving, our goal was to find non-animated films with real people. We chose National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and my absolute all-time favorite, Elf.
My son, DIL, and I couldn’t stop laughing during National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Neither one of us had seen it since it was originally released. A lot of the jokes were lost on the kids (Angel Girl fell asleep right away), and except for one slightly inappropriate part with a semi-nude female, it was slapstick humor at its finest, perfect for a precocious 7.5 year old.
The next evening we watched Elf. I always resonate with Buddy’s everlasting childlike joy and joie de vivre. He’s innocent and trusting, and the overarching message is that love wins every single time. Again, Angel Girl fell asleep immediately, so we’ll have to make it a family tradition and watch it again when she can stay awake.
My two most favorite lines in Elf are “Santa! I know him!” and “So…good news. I saw a dog today.” I say both of those lines year-round, and laugh to myself every single time.
New to me, but released in 2016, is A Nutcracker Christmas. It combines a love story and ballet, what could be better? Well acted and danced, it is a JOY to watch.
Since we also celebrate Hanukkah (begins sundown on December 7), I found a website that lists some family-friendly movies and we’ll watch a couple of them, too. https://www.verywellfamily.com/10-hanukah-movies-to-watch-with-kids-5208915
What are your favorite holiday movie traditions?
Chag Sameach!
Mostly for me Hanukkah was all about getting presents for eight days, haha, but I know there’s another meaning, because I went to Sunday school and even Hebrew school for a while, which was kind of expected considering my grandfather was a rabbi.
Our Jewish Festival of Lights lasts for eight days and nights in honor of a 2,000-year-old miracle in which light won out over darkness.
This year Hanukkah started yesterday at sundown, and ends Monday, December 26.
Hanukkah commemorates the dedication of the second temple in Jerusalem. In 164 BCE, the Jewish people revolted against the Greeks in the Maccabean War. After their victory they cleansed the temple and re-dedicated it.
There was an oil lamp there that only had one day of oil, but the lamp burned for eight days. This is called the miracle of the oil and is where the eight days of celebration comes from.
Like most of our holidays, food is key. Traditional Hanukkah foods include latkes and doughnuts fried in olive oil to represent the miracle of the burning oil lamp.
A bygone tradition was to give gold coins called gelt but today children are often given chocolate coins in a gold wrapping to make them look like gelt.
Besides receiving gifts, the star of the show is the menorah.
Menorah candles are to burn for at least half an hour after the sun sets.The menorah is a special candelabra with nine candles. Each day an additional candle is lit. The ninth candle is called a shamash. This candle is usually in the middle and set higher from the other eight candles to separate it from the rest. It’s the only candle that is supposed to be used for lighting the others.
Since this country seems to be in the middle of a disgusting new dark age of anti-Semitism and racism, it’s even more imperative that we stand up and speak out against prejudice and discrimination, once again bringing light into darkness.
There’s a lot of abhorrent history in this powerful image from Germany…
During Hanukkah 1931, Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner, took this photo of the family Hanukkah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with Nazi flags.
Happy early Hanukkah! It starts tonight at sundown which is closer to 4pm now after that ridiculous time change.
Things are super dry here in SoCal and there isn’t much color in the garden but I have a spectacular Christmas cactus that decided to bloom on Thanksgiving. Also called Zygocactus, it’s really a Schlumbergera hybrid.
I’ve had this one for quite a while…
I found a pure white African violet at a local nursery and that’s the new addition to the fam. I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing and fun Sunday!
Even though it’s the beginning of December and was the fifth night of Hannukah, here in Southern California we enjoyed a brief summery Sunday before a massive winter storm barrels down the coast from Alaska.
A late afternoon beach walk in Carlsbad…magnificent sunset, boats, seagulls flying home. Not such big waves, though I bet the winter storm will bring plenty of surf energy.
Maybe that’s why I get so excited for the WordPress snow to appear.
It’s the only snow I see unless we go skiing!
These photos have not been retouched. This is exactly what it looked like. AMAZING, right?
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 