The lights of Hanukkah
We celebrate Hanukkah. The holiday begins at sundown on Friday November 29th and lasts for eight nights. The lights of Chanukah are a symbol of joy. In time of darkness, our ancestors had the courage to struggle for freedom: freedom to be themselves, freedom to worship in their own way. Theirs was a victory of the weak over strong, the few over the many and the righteous over the arrogant. It was a victory for all ages and all peoples.
The candles are placed in the candle holder called a Menorah. The middle candle is used to light one candle for each night for eight nights. This is done from the right to left. This reminds us of the days of long ago when the miracle of Hanukkah occured. A small container of olive oil that was found to light the very first Menorah during the time of the Maccabees led by Judah, lasted miraculously for the full eight days.
– Marla Howard, Windsor, Ont.
Singing grace
The living matriarch of our family is our 80-year-old mother who taught her 5 daughters (no sons) to sing grace when we were very young and we have carried that tradition to our Christmas table nearly every year since we left home.
Each new member of our family usually hears the song at their first Christmas dinner with us. We always explain that this is a traditional family grace initiated many generations ago by our mother's family. Because it has been such a long and joyful tradition each new member of the family on hearing the song always learns the words and melody before next year's Christmas dinner.
It is a very happy time for us and we sing the grace sometimes with harmonies but always with much joy in our voices. Despite its joyful sound, many new members upon hearing it for the first time have tears in their eyes by the final refrain. We have been singing this grace for Christmas and other large family dinner gatherings for nearly forty years.
We singing it with the memories of our life wrapped in generations of mothers' love and when our mother passes on we will sing it as a tribute to the joy of her life and lineage. The words of the grace do not truly reflect the joyous tradition but I have included them below:
Be present at our table Lord,
Be here and everywhere adored.
Each creature bless and grant that we,
May Live in paradise with Thee
Amen.
– Freda Crake
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