Happy Chanukah!

One of my favorite times of the year is the Jewish holiday called Chanukah. Our family celebrates together to share our love, have fun with one another and celebrate. Time goes by fast, our children are now young adults. It is a tradition to give young children gifts for eight nights.  This coincides with the duration of the holiday. As with every major Jewish holiday, candles are lit, appropriate blessings are made, followed by a festive meal with loved ones.

Chanukah — the eight-day festival of light that begins on the eve of the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev — celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality.

Chanukah Customs:

• eating foods fried in oil — latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnuts)

• playing with the dreidel (a spinning top on which are inscribed the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin, an acronym for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, “a great miracle happened there”);

• giving of Chanukah gelt, gifts of money, to children.

See a favorite video of mine from the Maccabeats, Candlelight - Chanukah 

To learn more this special holiday check out the article - Chanukah in a Nutshell With a Medley of Chanukah

More than twenty-one centuries ago, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who sought to forcefully Hellenize the people of Israel. Against all odds, a small band of faithful Jews defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and rededicated it to the service of G-d.

When they sought to light the Temple’s menorah (the seven branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks; miraculously, the one-day supply burned for eight days, until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

To commemorate and publicize these miracles, the sages instituted the festival of Chanukah. At the heart of the festival is the nightly menorah (candelabrum) lighting: a single flame on the first night, two on the second evening, and so on till the eighth night of Chanukah, when all eight lights are kindled.

On Chanukah we also add the Hallel and Al HaNissim in our daily prayers to offer praise and thanksgiving to G-d for “delivering the strong into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few… the wicked into the hands of the righteous.”

As we celebrate the Chanukah and Christmas holidays I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy holiday season.  Create an excellent day! ~Bonnie

Bonnie Gortler is a successful stock market guru who is passionate about helping people reach their dreams, persevere and live life to the fullest. Bonnie has successfully lost 61 pounds through her commitment to living a healthier lifestyle focused on personal growth. You are invited to learn how to cultivate relationships using Twitter, the Social Media Phenomenon, by downloading Bonnie’s FREE guide, Twitter Magic. This powerful and informative resource is packed with great tips showing you how to effectively build relationships while growing your business. Connect with Bonnie via Twitter & Facebook  plus subscribe to her blog at BonnieGortler.com. 

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