Hanukkah  Happy Hanukkah
From 101lifeStyle.com
Eight Days Of Hanukkah: The festival of Hanukkah is for eight days. This is a Jewish holiday which is very important for their community. Children receive gifts from their parents, every night they receive a special gift but on the whole, this festival is not only about giving and receiving gifts. It is a festival which is universally welcomed by a family as a whole. Each day can be celebrated in a special way with family and friends to make it memorable. Here are some ideas how to enjoy the festival of light.
Day One: This is the time to remember the history of Hanukkah and how it started. The holiday is started officially when the first candle in the menorah is burnt. The adults take part in the ceremony of lighting the candles, and this is the time that the children can learn few lessons about the festival of Hanukkah from their elders, like learning the Hanukkah prayers in either English or Hebrew, depending how old the child is. You can enjoy the day by singing special songs, and have traditional food such as the famous potato latkes, and hear the story of Hanukkah from one of the members of the family.
Day Two: This is the day to show how artistic you can be. Make homemade dreidels which are easy to make. You will find the rules of driedels in a Hanukkah book. This is a traditional game and a certain pattern is followed. Make dreidel with felt, paint glitter and yarn. After you have played the game and all have retired to bed, drape the beautiful art of work across the front door as a memoir.
 Day Three: Reserve this day to watch a movie. Rent a video, it can be a classical movie which will give you a history lesson. Have snacks to go around and drinks to keep all cool, the evening will be a success. Tell the eldest member of the family to tell stories of their childhood to the children and how it is like to grow up as a Jewish.
Day Four: As this is the festive season, festive food is a must too, so make all the foods that are made on Hanukkah and let every member of a family make a special dish, the more the merrier. Share the food and the spirit of the holiday with close friends and neighbors.
Day Five: Before the Hanukkah festival arrives, every member of the family should go and visit an library and get a book on the customs and traditions of Hanukkah and something that highlights the Jewish experience, with the story of Hanukkah. Have every member read their favorite part of the book, make it a topic of discussion, that way each one gets to know how the other person thinks about the spirit and depth of the festival.
Day Six: A “tzedakah” is a money box. Each child should have a tzedakah before the holiday. The parents will give a long list of chores that they want their kids to do for them and in return for it; they will get monetary return, so as the task is completed they get their money. This goal will lead up to the evening for the child to earn as much as he can to create a tzedakah. The children give all the money which they have earned to the parents, and they add some of their own taking a family vote and donate it to some charitable institution.
 Day Seven: Each family member will exchange a gift with each other this night. If gift exchange is done in one day, then it won’t have to take up the rest of the seven other holiday season, leaving it free for other activities. So keep a special day for the gift exchange. You can either buy ready made gifts, or make gifts out of your own hands by being creative and gift it to each person.
Day Eight: Mitzvot is good deeds. Each member gets a small notebook and it is to keep track of all the mitzvoth that is done during the course of the eight day holiday, from morning to night. The main factor in this is that good deeds are only counted if they are done when unnoticed. That means a person is being selfless and in the evening of this last night of the holiday, every member is present while the other reads out the mitzvoth.  Story Of Hanukkah
Hanukkah Customs And Rituals |
