Eight Lights of 2008

How do the eight nights of Hanukkah fly by so quickly? I feel like I've just gotten into the groove of the prayers, lighting the candles, and most importantly, letting light triumph over darkness, when the eight nights are over. I always feel a sadness at the end of Hanukkah, and I did so again tonight.

We did enjoy wonderful latkes last night. If my mom might say so herself (and I would agree), they have to be her best attempt yet at latkes. Who knew Martha Stewart would have the winning latke recipe (with a little tweaking to make them gluten-free)? We certainly had our fat intake for the entire month, but they were worth it!

Another high note of Hanukkah this year was winning the local Hadassah raffle. For many years my grandmother would enter my name in the raffle, a tradition we have continued since her death. Not only did we light her Yahrzeit candle during Hanukkah this year, but I won the Hanukkah raffle...so we felt Grandma's presence a little bit more this Hanukkah. The raffle was for an amount of money called "Double Chai"--or $36. Eighteen is chai and multiples are double chai, triple chai, etc. Since chai means life in Hebrew, I hope this will be a good ending to 2008 and signs of a better 2009. I'm not known for winning things!

Mom and I kept Hanukkah extremely low-key this year and did not exchange any gifts, instead choosing to donate to charities. I have to say, it was the most relaxed, stress-free Hanukkah for us. It was also nice to have Mom home from work for a few days as we were able to take some time together to watch an episode of our favorite show (Eli Stone) and begin watching the Lyme documentary Under Our Skin (powerful, sobering, overwhelming, amazingly well-done). I haven't gotten to blog yet about Mom going back to work...that's a longer post for another day! (Let's just say, she's no longer 'on retirement'.)  When I have the energy to watch a TV show together it is a big treat for both of us. 

As I reflected on Hanukkah this year and listened to Hanukkah stories and music, I decided that I wanted to do something at the end of 2008. I no longer do holiday cards and I didn't get a holiday letter written this year. 

I'm not at all ready for 2009 to end. In fact, I'm trying to figure out: is there a way to post-pone the start of the new year so I have a little more time to catch up?! So many things (such as visitors!) happened in 2008 that I never had the energy to share on my blog, but have been longing to write about or at least post some pictures. I'll attempt to do the entries more in pictures than in words!.

In honor of the end of 2008 and the eight nights of Hanukkah I have decided to do eight posts on eight lights of 2008 that I did not yet get to share with my readers. I know, I know, eight. It's a lot. But, I plan on spreading them out into the new year. We'll see if I can even get them done! I'm setting myself up for a big task here. But eight is my favorite number, so I can do it!

In the next couple of weeks, I hope to share with you eight more lights--high and low lights--of 2008. Hopefully, I will mostly share highlights, but I haven't completed my list of topics yet. I'll see what comes up as I go. 

After all, Hanukkah is about darkness AND light, struggle AND triumph. And that's why it speaks to me so much each and every year. 

Blessings,

Emily

Photos:  The candles on the last night of Hanukkah. Our friend, Pam, always finds us these wonderful candles.

P.S. Okay, so google now does not know any Jewish words? I understand spellcheck not recognizing Hadassah or Yahrzeit, but latkes? Hmmmm....