Prime Minister’s first day of Hanukkah message

As fans of Fox’s seminal teen drama The O.C. know, December brings not only Christmas and Hanukkah but also Chrismukkah, the mostly fake holiday that becomes a bit more real this year as the two observances overlap once again. “(The Syrian Greeks) sought to impose restrictions on the Jewish way of life, prohibit religious freedom and force the Jewish people to accept a foreign religion.

The main story associated with Hanukkah is the festival of lights. The Jews reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and re-dedicated it to the service of God, according to the website chabad.org. One new branch of the menorah is lit each night to mark this miracle.

It took a week to obtain fresh supplies, but miraculously the oil burned for the full eight days until the new supply was procured. If nobody steps in, we might someday celebrate Hanukkah with red, white and blue fireworks.

Nancy is Jewish, while her husband Brion Ebert is Lutheran. They celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. For only the fifth time in 100 years, two great faiths, Christianity and Judaism, will celebrate historical events on the same day that for each represent a miracle. I think Mary probably felt jipped by receiving this fakakta instead of something useful, like a pen-set.

“That song was very popular among my Jewish friends”, Goldsten said. All kids get a free gift.

One of the traditions is to play dreidel, which is a small spinning top with letters on each of the four sides.

The annual fundraiser featured gold-dusted chocolate made by Oscar Ortego and turned into gelt, which was then wrapped and sold by the Hebrew School kids ages 5 to 9.

He said this year is unique because the last night of Hanukkah, also known as Chanukah, coincides with New Year’s Eve so the group made a decision to do a larger event. It combines ancient tradition with a modern twist, he said.

Since we celebrate both holidays – with food, family, and gifts – we don’t go all out with any of it.

The first candle on Hanukkah menorahs will be lit on Saturday, with seven more to follow over each night of the Jewish Festival of Lights.

In recent decades, particularly in North America, Hanukkah has exploded into a major commercial phenomenon, largely because it falls near or overlaps with Christmas. And they couldn’t find enough oil.

Kipnes, who co-authored the book “Jewish Spiritual Parenting” with his wife, Michelle November, urges parents to talk a lot and to be intentional about how they want to raise children and celebrate the holidays.

Other festivities include going to their pork room- every gentile house has a special room to keep ham and roast beast in- and eating for twelve days straight.