Tonight is the first night of chanukah and I was lucky to spend it with family.

PSM and I flew back from Hawaii today, we’ll,  yesterday and today,  sorry about no post,  I didn’t think about it until today! We left at 5pm yesterday and arrived on the mainland late morning. Anyway…

Tonight startes the beginning of the celebration of Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights.  For those of you not in the know, the Festival of Lights celebrates the miracle of what happened so long ago.

When the temple was destroyed and the Jews went in to clean things up, they found enough oil to light the lamps for one night,  but a miracle occurred  and it lasted eight nights. That is why we celebrate for eight nights.

Things that are special to the holiday are things like potato pancakes or potato latkes, they are fried in oil,  which is what makes them special. We might also serve donuts, fried in oil, maybe filled with sweet jellies.

We play games like dreidel and sing songs.  It’s so much fun as a kid and to play and see through the eyes of a child.

Each night,  we light candles on the menorah, one more each day until the eighth night,  the menorah is aglow with warmth and hope and love.

Tonight,  I was with GES and family.  The only thing missing was the rest of the family. Before dad left last week they celebrated chanukah together so they could enjoy the celebration together.

The menorah I lit when I got back to my apartment was one I picked up after we got back from our big trip. Doesn’t it scream Antoni Gaudi!

On the last night,  I’ll post a picture in full glow.

Happy Chanukah!