I am not Jewish. Nor is my husband. But my dad is Jewish and with my mom being Catholic, this made us kids…not very religious. Growing up, we observed both sets of holidays but in a very relaxed manner. During Hanukkah, we’d light the menorah, have a dinner or two that included matzos, potato latkes and matzo ball soup. (Gotta love Manischewitz.) For sweet treats we had brownies and cookies covered in bright blue sprinkles from a local kosher bakery. When it came to gifts, they were always the practical sort like socks, facial moisturizer, and fun kitchen towels. And they were great! (Our regular holiday gifts were reserved for a Christmas day exchange.)

Nowadays, I still light the menorah to continue my family’s traditions. My mom had given me a pretty silver one complete with a blue velvet box. I love it. When my boys were younger, they enjoyed lighting the candles. Unfortunately, as they grew, they slowly lost interest. So now, it’s mostly just me lighting them. But every once in a while one of the boys will surprise me by requesting to light the candles and it’ll warm my heart when they do.

For a Hanukkah dinner, I prefer to cook something beefy along with the matzo ball soup. And I’ll still make potato latkes but these days, they’re from Trader Joes. It may be cheating but man, they’re really good! A few years ago just before Hanukkah, I was at TJ’s to buy their potato latkes and was disappointed to find they were all gone. When I got in the check-out line for my other stuff (because it’s impossible for me to leave Trader Joe’s empty handed), I was right behind a Hasidic Jew. I noticed his cart was full of the latkes! There must’ve been over thirty boxes of them. He took them all! Oy! And when he paid, they were split up into three orders so it must’ve been for at least three families. So hey, if these guys were cheating with these latkes, then we can too. Since then, our Trader Joe’s has done a great job at keeping an ample supply of their latkes around this time of the year so there’s plenty for all, Jewish or not.

We don’t give gifts for Hanukkah. Holidays (and birthdays) for us are more about the celebration rather than the gifts. This year with all the pandemic shiatzu we’re dealing with, I feel it’s even more important to emphasize this. I wish you all a very Happy Hanukkah! CHEERS to good health and most of all…

L’Chaim!!!

_{FYI: I have not received any compensation for the product(s), store(s), and/or link(s) mentioned in this blog. This content was written purely from my perspective for informational purposes only.}