The Holiday Season is finally here! I live for the holidays. I am actually one of the few Chicagoans
who love the winter. Not even for
the sledding and the snow (which I could do without). But besides sweaters, wool socks, and hot tea, my favorite
part of winter is the holiday spirit.
I know what you’re probably thinking: “But Emma, you’re Jewish!” Yeah? So what! There’s something magical about the
scent of warm spices and decorative lights (only when done tastefully, though,
so don’t get crazy, people). I
took a trip to Christmas Town with my friends this weekend. It’s a town that just goes buck wild
for Christmas, and the whole downtown area sells Christmas stuff and decorates
for the holiday. The best part is
the candy shop where you can watch them making fresh candy canes. And then eat the fresh candy
canes. Yummmm.
I also have a mini-obsession with Christmas trees. They’re just so beautiful and
happy. I mean, really, how can you
not be happy when in the presence of a Christmas tree? So much festivity, so much
tradition. It’s great. My mom asked me the other day if I have
Christmas envy and I responded, “No, just Christmas tree envy.” So naturally I asked my dad if we could
keep a holiday tree in the house.
He denied my request, so I downscaled to just a small one in my
room. I offered to call it a
Chanukah bush if he wanted, but he pointed out that there is no bush in
Chanukah. But I was relentless. What did I do last year? Shoved one in
my locker at school. Yes it was a
pain, and yes, I lost time working around it to get my books, but it was so
worth the struggle.
I should probably talk about my own holiday a bit,
though. I really and truly love
Chanukah. And everyone always says
that it is just for the presents, but I swear it’s not. Chanukah is first and foremost a
festival of lights. A celebration
of miracles. An embellished
holiday that is loosely related to a true historic event. But that is neither here nor
there. Who really cares if
Chanukah was promoted to get kids more involved in the temple? I certainly don’t. Chanukah is about hope, optimism,
family, and intense games of dreidel.
It’s been a few years since I’ve played, so I’m probably a bit rusty,
but trust me I used to clean up.
Sure, it’s kind of a game of luck, but I think I was still pretty good.
But the reason that I really love Chanukah is that for eight
days, you have that one thing to look forward to each night. That time when everyone gathers around
the menorah and says the prayers and lights the candles. It used to be more stressful when Jake
and I had to fight over who got to light the Noah’s Ark menorah (awesome,
right?). Now that we’ve updated to
a more “sophisticated” menorah, the only thing I have to worry about are the
candles themselves. I’m kind of
afraid of fire. I really like
being around fires (cozy fireplace fires, bonfires, campfires, etc.) but I’m
terrified when it comes to using lighters and holding burning candles. I refuse to use the lighter to light
the first candle. I tentatively light the others, but make someone else put the
candle back in its place so that I can avoid the hot wax.
So this is where the rubber meets the road. I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback
about the posts, so now it’s time to really show your appreciation. It’s the holiday season, people, and I
know that you’re all rushing around to get your holiday gifts. Whether those
gifts be late Chanukah gifts, Christmas gifts, heck, even Kwanza gifts, you
know what to get. A tote bag! The perfect present to show someone
that you care.
-Emma
