slo’s WEDNESDAY 12/17 poll - Hanukkah 🕎

[slo]

Tonight is the 4th night of Hanukkah, so I didn’t want this special holiday to be happening without doing a poll about it. Our Jewish friends started celebrating this beautiful holiday on December 14th and is celebrated for 8 days. Personally, I enjoy learning about other people’s cultures and traditions, so I posted some info about Hanukkah so we can all learn a little something today…..



Hanukkah truly is a beautiful holiday for our Jewish friends and even though I like to say “Merry Christmas”, I do understand why saying “Happy Holidays” is important - you just don’t know who celebrates what (in regards to strangers). So let’s discuss Hanukkah today and all the beauty that goes with it. Give us your candle lit answer today…..


Do you celebrate Hanukkah?
If yes…..who do you celebrate with?
If no……do you know anyone that does?
If yes…..who?
(multiple choice)

*Happy Hanukkah to all our DIS friends who celebrate this holiday



For Me…..I do not celebrate Hanukkah or know someone that does. I actually don’t know any Jewish people right now. About 20 years ago I worked with a Jewish lady for about 5 years, and I always enjoyed hearing about her family’s Hanukkah celebrations. I learned a lot about Hanukkah, Passover and more. We Christians think we know about Jewish holidays, and we generally do, but when you know a Jewish person to really explain everything, you realize you don’t know as much as you thought you did.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I’ve had coworkers for the last 40 years that celebrate Hanukkah so I’ve gotten to learn several things about several Jewish holidays and I’ve always found it very enlightening having worked in the corporate world for 30 years you do not say merry Christmas you say happy holidays And it’s gotten so ingrained in me that I find myself hardly ever saying merry Christmas anymore I always say happy holidays because you just never know who is celebrating what

 

[Wood Nymph]

We have friends who celebrate.

 

[RedAngie]

I have a bit of Hanukkah decor and I’m using Hanukkah disposable napkins this week.

 

[Meriweather]

We don't celebrate Hanukkah and right now don't know anyone that does.

 

[easyas123]

I recently hired a young lawyer who is Jewish and I've really enjoyed learning about the faith from her. We've even added menorah's to our holiday decor at our office locations!

 

[MamaMermaid]

We celebrate Christmas but I have many friends and co-workers that celebrate Hanukkah. We live in South Florida so there is a large Jewish population

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I celebrate Hanukkah/Chanukah.

While my dad's side of the family is Protestant, my mom's side is Jewish. It's my understanding that in Judeo Christian customs, you are supposed to have the kids take the wife's religion, so my brother and I were raised Jewish. My dad has never converted but he goes along and participates in everything.

I used to have Hanukkah elements to my outdoor display, but my Mensch on a Bench died after the first year and my massive Hanukkah bear lasted only about 3 years.



I have an indoor display in this little nook. I primarily use my electric menorah but I have several that use candles if I feel so inclined. I have a large number of dreidels and little games, but my crowning glory is my Little People Hanukkah set. I lost the mom, baby, dog and high chair over the years, but I have everything else...AND it still works.

I do not deep fry, so I usually buy jelly donuts if I want faux sufganiyot. I have one kid that is deathly allergic to nuts, so I will not make rugelach, but will buy it if I find some. I do turn into a ONE-WOMAN-LATKE-FACTORY one night a year. That night this year will be Friday. I'm also hoping to run out at lunch and find some better jelly donuts as all I could find on Sunday (by the time I got out) were apple fritters. Apple is much more prevalent in Rosh Hashanah festivities but I just went with it and added in some Nutella to embody the spirt of the nuts in the rugelach.

For what it's worth, I've always been told that Hanukkah is not really a big holiday but has been blown up due to its timing around Christmas festivities and the commercial potential. Hanukkah also follows the Judaic calendar and will not be on the same dates each year. Hence why it seems like the start/end is always bouncing around.





I also usually put up a large outside light display. Considering the fact that Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights, I feel that exterior lights can be just as much in celebration of Hanukkah as it can be for Christmas. DH grew up Christian as well, so like my father, it gives him a bit of both.

 

[GAN]

I'm shocked that so many don't have a friend that's Jewish! Maybe it's a regional thing(I'm in the northeast) -when I was in school, we had so many Jewish students that we actually got some of their holidays off as well. I will say this -my Jewish friends are some of the strongest, well-grounded, and kind people I know..... So you're really missing out!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I'm shocked that so many don't have a friend that's Jewish! Maybe it's a regional thing(I'm in the northeast) -when I was in school, we had so many Jewish students that we actually got some of their holidays off as well. I will say this -my Jewish friends are some of the strongest, well-grounded, and kind people I know..... So you're really missing out!

That could be it. I grew up in NY Metro NJ and went to a university in NY state that was about 47-48% Jewish at my time of attendance. That being said, I now live Houston area and I still know a number of people who are also "members of the tribe." Although, I think I'm more inclined to gravitate towards people with similar backgrounds...at least in some capacity...regardless of where I reside.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

We don't celebrate Hanukkah, but it looks great!

 

[robinb]

We celebrate Hanukkah. I’m an atheist who once celebrated Christmas as a secular holiday. I enjoyed decorating a tree and giving gifts. My DH is Jewish, so once my DD was born we started celebrating Hanukkah instead. I enjoy lighting the menorah every night. It forces our family to stop for a couple of minutes and do something together and focus on the light. A fully lit menorah is beautiful!

 

[CynBeth]

Thank you so much for doing this!

I am Jewish but my DH is Catholic so we celebrate Christmas and Chanukah and other holidays for each of our religions throughout the year. Usually it is us and my DM lighting the menorah each night and exchanging gifts. On the first night my synagogue had a celebration that we attended so were also celebrating with friends and tomorrow we are hosting a Mah Jongg game where we will have some Chanukah treats as some of the snacks. We always have a few times during the holiday latkes and donuts. We never make will buy from store. We give the dog a few gifts for each holiday.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I do not celebrate as it's not my heritage. I once worked for a Jewish couple for 5 years in their family owned business. Therefore, I knew someone who celebrated. They would host a party in DEC every year at their home with catered food and a bartender and it was always nice for all of us to dress up a bit and enjoy each other's company outside of work. I started there at 16 and I remember my boss personally asking my dad if it was ok for me to attend since I was the only underage employee and there would be alcohol present.

 

[soccerdad72]

We have some friends and coworkers who are Jewish, but do not celebrate ourselves.

My mom used to say when she was growing up, they lived down the block from a synagogue, so they had a lot of Jewish neighbors. In order to make my mom's Jewish friends feel welcomed, my grandma would set up a second small tree and they referred to it as the 'Hanukkah Bush'

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My mom’s Jewish and I grew up celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas, but Christmas was a much bigger deal (my mom would always call our Xmas tree a Hanukkah bush lol), so it’s the same way in our home now. I make latkes every year (I love them with apple sauce), but we buy everything else. It’s kind of stressful when the two holidays overlap, because I’m also making Christmas cookies and candies, so I prefer an early Hanukkah. We’re mostly decorated with Christmas stuff but we have a Hanukkiah/menorah for each family member and a mensch on a bench, dreidels and a few other things.

 

[evilmommie]

I’m a Christian, so I don’t celebrate Hanukkah. But, two of my best friends are Jewish. Since we have all traveled to Israel at some point, we have great conversations about Jewish traditions and holidays. My Jewish bestie that lives close to me in Ca makes the best latkes!!

 

[amcnj]

Went to a community Chanukah event/celebration last night.

Including a drone show!

 

[Micca]

No Jewish folks in our immediate orbit, so no celebrations here

 

[clappyclaps]

I don't celebrate Hanukkah or know anyone that does, not sure I know anyone Jewish at all, even work colleagues.