Hanukkah

                                      

                                 Hanukkah 

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, began at sundown on December 8th and will end at sunset on the eighth day. Hanukkah is not the most crucial celebration the Jewish People have, but it is the one that happens in December.

This year, the Ukrainian and Israeli people are fighting for their homeland. Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish people winning the war against the Syrians, as they wanted their land and the freedom of religion.

Many years ago, in the time of B.C., the Jewish people lived in peace, and their Holy Temple was in their capital city of Jerusalem. The army of Syria came and conquered Judea and defiled the Holy Temple. The Syrian king had idols placed in the temple and ordered all the Jews to pray to his gods or die. Some people did as the king ordered, but many Jews refused and, led by a priest named Mattathias, went to live in the caves of the surrounding mountains.

Mattathias led the men in battles with the heavily armor-protected Syrian army. When Mattathias became too old to lead, he chose his son Judah Maccabee, nicknamed The Hammer. After many years of fighting, the Jews won and drove the Syrians out of their land.

The people cleaned the temple and destroyed the false gods. Then, they sought oil to light the grand menorah. They found enough to burn it for one day. A miracle happened; the oil lasted eight days, giving them enough time to make more.

Today's menorah has a nine-branch candelabrum. Eight candles are for the eight days the oil lasted. The ninth candle is called the "servant" candle. It is used to light the other candles, one candle each day. The celebration is called the "Feast of Lights."   

The family plays a dreidel game to remember the time of the Syrians. The people were not allowed to teach the boys to read. So the teacher (rabbi) would put different words on the sides of the dreidel. If a Syrian soldier asked the teacher what he was doing, he answered, "We are just playing a game to entertain the boys while the parents work."

Today, there are anti-Semitic people in our country and the world. The people who are prejudiced against Jews are not Christians. The Christian faith is one of love and peace. The Christian faith would not exist if the Hebrew people had not become God's people. He had many groups from which He could choose. There were the Syrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, etc. Yet God chose a small, unimportant group of slaves to be His. Even though they were imperfect, He stuck by them and chose an unknown, poor Hebrew girl to be the mother of His Son. While Jesus walked upon this earth, He was Jewish and followed the Hebrew religion when it did not conflict with his Father's will. The Christian faith has its origins in the Jewish people.

May this time of Hanukkah be a blessing to all who celebrate the miracle of God who made one bit of oil last eight days. 

Happy Chanukah to all the Jewish people, and may you have peace. 

Holiday Fun for Everyone!

                     Holiday Fun For Everyone!

You may know I am a child in my heart. I enjoyed reading books to my students. Even the fifth graders enjoyed the storytime. I loved to see the expressions when they heard or read different versions of a classic. So, if you are a parent, grandparent, uncle, or aunt, try reading some of the following. They are the most fun when read with expression. You should practice a bit.  

Have you read the original story of A Christmas Carol? The movie version leaves out part of the story Charles Dickens wrote. The original story with a facsimile of the original manuscript was published by Dover Publications, Inc. in New York in 1967 and 1971. It is a long old English story that is fun to read. This is a good book for an adult but maybe difficult for children.

But, a better version for children is Dickens' Christmas Carol, published by Ideals in 1961 with excellent illustrations by Charles Rapp. I am sure there are more versions for children in bookstores and on the internet. Children should take advantage of this classic.

A Visit from St. Nicholas was first published under the title Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas in the Troy, 'New York Sentinel' on December 23, 1823. It had a strong influence on gift-giving.

So many of us can recite The Night Before Christmas. ( Also called A Visit from St. Nicholas and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.)Do you realize the last line of this beloved poem is Happy Christmas to all and not Merry Christmas to all? In Clement Clarke Moore's day, the word merry meant a boisterous and rowdy celebration. This idea is still followed in England. So if you see King Charles of England, wish him a Happy Christmas and not a merry one.

     There are delightful versions with fantastic illustrations. They are great for reading aloud, especially to a child, but I can guarantee that the adult who does the reading will also enjoy the story. Look for these on the internet or at Barnes and Noble (the store may need to order copies). I found some copies on the book site for used books, Thrift Books.

Texas Night Before Christmas, written and illustrated by James Rice. Pelican Publishing Company, with the sixth printing in 1994. 

   "'Twas the night before Christmas in the cold wintry fog. 

      Nary a critter was movin' 

      Nor a lone prairie dog."

An Irish Night Before Christmas by Sarah Kirwan Blazek, illustrated by James Rice and published by Pelican Publishing with the twelfth printing in 2010.

  "'Twas the night before Christmas 

   And down the glen lane 

   The candles they twinkled 

    In each window pane.

Cowboy Night Before Christmas was written and illustrated by James Rice. Published by Pelican Publishing, with the third printing in 1994.

  "'Twas a cold Christmas eve

   on the Southwestern plain

   And the North wind was blowin'

    through a broke winderpane.

   In that sod shanty shack

   far from home, warmth, and care

    Shivered to lonely cowboys,

    such a scraggly pair."

Do you like Cajun? Cajun Night Before Christmas, written and illustrated by James Rice and published by Pelican Publishing in 1992. 

'Twas the night before Christmas

An' all t'ru de house

Dey don't a t'ing pass

Not even a mouse.

My favorite is Hillbilly Night Afore Christmas by James Rice and published in 1983. (I  did find a copy at Thrift Books, but they list the author as Thomas Turner.)This book takes practice to read out loud, but it is a pure delight to a child's heart like mine. 

Also, The Story of the Nutcracker Ballet by Deborah Hau, illustratedated by Diane Goode, is great for children. Published by Random House in 1986  

There is an audio cassette entitled Sory of The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffman and adapted by Janet Schulman.   The complete story is narrated by Claire Blume, a famous actress. The music is by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and conducted by Jonel Perleaust. I found a CD of the story and music with Claire Bloom on Amazon's second-hand material. I ordered a copy and will let you know how it sounds.

Another great book is A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg, illustrated by Warren Hanson. Published by Waldman House Press 1982.

Dick Keller's illustrations of  The Story of Chanukah for Children, written by Beverly Rae Charette, are delightful. Published by Ideals Publishing Corp. in1981. I am sure there are other books with this theme for children. 

Some of these books could be on a used book site as the publication dates are in the 1900s. There are many sites on the internet.

Now I wish you all a Happy Christmas.  If you wish to have a Merry Christmas, I won't tell anyone our secret.