Favorite Holiday Traditions - Blogmas Day 3

Hello, love <3

 Today's Blogmas post is all about holiday traditions. As most of you know my family celebrates Hanukkah, which begins in only 3 days! Every year we whip out the festive decorations and fill our living room with pops of blue. I really look forward to this because it fills my heart with lots of love.

 A couple years ago my grandmas sent us a whole bunch of dreidels & make your own menorahs that we still have to this day! Every year we take out our big Ikea bag of decorations and set up the dreidels and clay oil jugs (part of the story of Hanukkah) on our mantle. We also have a pack of silver and blue ornaments. Although we don't decorate a tree, we do use the baubles by setting them up ever so carefully behind the dreidels on the mantle against the wall. We have to get them just right, so they don't fall off the mantle and get glitter everywhere!

 Every year, my family & friends attend a community menorah lighting on one of the nights of Hanukkah, led by our Rabbi. The menorah is huge and it feels like our entire Jewish community is coming together! 

Last year's menorah lighting

 An obvious tradition is lighting the menorah each night. Usually we'll divide the number of candles we have to light that night among each person in my family, so we all get a chance to light one. For some reason I am intrigued watching the wax slowly melt away until there's none left. 

Another photo from last December

 During Hanukkah we eat foods fried in oil to celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting for 8 days, hence 8 days of Hanukkah and 8 candles. These foods include latkes, also known as potato pancakes, and donuts. At the Hebrew School I volunteer at the kids make these foods and other Hanukkah crafts which is always really fun to help with.

 Finally, playing with dreidels. Such a simple, childish game, yet it's so fun. 

Instructions for the game, if you're interested :)

 My sisters and I each choose a dreidel from the wide selection my grandmas sent from Israel :) We always have some gelt (chocolate coins) lying around this time of year, so we put it all in the middle and play till there's none left. We also have dreidel-offs with my dad, to see who can leave a dreidel spinning the longest ... he usually wins, haha.

 It was fun to recall all of these traditions as my family and I will be doing them again very soon. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Leave a comment!

 Thank you for reading and I'll talk to you soon.

*computer hug*