“You see, kids, we light the candles on the menorah for eight days because Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights.?
My husband looks at me skeptically, and glances at the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, blinding us with the 7,000 or so watts blasting from its perfectly trimmed branches.
There?s no competing. In our mixed Judeo-Christian family, we try to mash up the holidays and give both Hanukkah and Christmas a place of importance in our kids? lives, but until a Hanukkah Armadillo actually marches in with chocolate coins to bestow upon the good little boys and girls, Hanukkah will always be eclipsed by a jolly fat man with a sack of toys.
But the merging of cultures means new traditions right" We have the wonderful ability to pick and choose from the buffet of options to create holidays that are modern, special and uniquely our own. Llama-shaped menorah and candles" Check. Fake Christmas tree decorated purely for style in ombre tones" Check. Latkes" Check. Comfort and joy" Sure, why not" Giant turkey dinner for 25 with all the fixings" Check, check, check.
Elf on the Shelf" Not on your life.
For those of you lucky souls not quite familiar with it, The Elf on the Shelf is one of ye olde Yuletide traditions invented way back in 2005. He?s a little guy apparently sent from the North Pole to play a month-long game of hide-and-seek with your kids, during which folly he collects intel on said kids? behavior to relay bac...