Welcome to our Hanukkah Celebration!
Come on in, help yourself to a fresh baked gingerbread cookie in the shape of a menorah, a dreidel, or a star and enjoy the lights and warm fellowship as we celebrate
The LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
I'm not sure how long we have been celebrating Hanukkah; I know we started celebrating it long before we ditched our Christmas tree. I think I've covered our whys & wherefores in past posts (links below), but just to say that the celebration of Hanukkah is relevant and important for all believers as it is the story of unshakable zeal for God's instruction, devotion to God's Commandments, the will to stand up for what is right & holy, and rejecting assimilation into a pagan world. It is the story of the rededication of God's Temple and His people, and this is really what all the fall feasts are about - a humble rededication of our own temple -- our hearts and lives to the One True King of kings and Lord of lords.
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Posts from past Hanukkahs:
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And here's a glimpse into this year's celebration...
Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, 8 Days & 8 Nights
December 12 - 20, 2017
Although the Feast of Dedication is not a feast of YHWH as listed in Leviticus 23, it is mentioned in the Bible in John 10: 22-23
"And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Yahshua (Jesus) walked in the temple in Solomon's porch."
Yahshua did not condemn the celebration but rather used it as an opportunity to teach that He is the Light of the World. (John 8 - 10)
An 8-night Feast! (pictured night 4, Chicken Marsala night)
Jeff had the honor of lighting our oil lamp from Israel each night.
Our Hanukkah Menu
1/Tue) Papa Murphy's Pizza (10 buck Tuesday)
2/Wed) BBQ Brisket, Rice, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli, Gingerbread Cookies
3/Thur) Herb Roasted Lamb Chops, Latkes, Green Beans, more cookies!
4/Fri) Chicken Marsala (non-alcohol), Roasted & Glazed Carrots, Salad, Olives
5/Shabbat) Honey Salmon, Oriental Fried Rice, Kale Chips
6/Sun) Texas Roadhouse for a belated birthday lunch and Spaghetti & fend Supper
7/Mon) Deluxe Been Hotdish & Garlic Toast
8/Tue) Fried Chicken, Cole Slaw, Fried Potatoes of choice (Brass Rail Take-out), homemade Apple Bars
You may laugh at my menu as it doesn't seem like much of a feast, but we had to be a little more flexible with both of our girls working a variety of hours, including a couple late nights where Anna didn't get home until almost 10 p.m.. And only one night did I remember to play Hanukkah music (oy).
Speaking of working late, we usually spend our Hanukkah evenings playing several rousing board games, all with a Hanukkah or Biblical theme, and we talked about it, but instead ended up vegging out in the evenings, too tired to think! However, following dinner, we did retire in the family room and read "Light in the Darkness: Hanukkah and the Disciples of Yeshua" by First Fruits of Zion (online pdf). A great little booklet on the whole story of the Feast of Dedication including many portions of Scripture and I Maccabees, followed by some good family discussions. :)
Jeff had the honor of lighting our oil lamp from Israel each night.
Our Hanukkah Menu
1/Tue) Papa Murphy's Pizza (10 buck Tuesday)
2/Wed) BBQ Brisket, Rice, Roasted Parmesan Broccoli, Gingerbread Cookies
3/Thur) Herb Roasted Lamb Chops, Latkes, Green Beans, more cookies!
4/Fri) Chicken Marsala (non-alcohol), Roasted & Glazed Carrots, Salad, Olives
5/Shabbat) Honey Salmon, Oriental Fried Rice, Kale Chips
6/Sun) Texas Roadhouse for a belated birthday lunch and Spaghetti & fend Supper
7/Mon) Deluxe Been Hotdish & Garlic Toast
8/Tue) Fried Chicken, Cole Slaw, Fried Potatoes of choice (Brass Rail Take-out), homemade Apple Bars
You may laugh at my menu as it doesn't seem like much of a feast, but we had to be a little more flexible with both of our girls working a variety of hours, including a couple late nights where Anna didn't get home until almost 10 p.m.. And only one night did I remember to play Hanukkah music (oy).
Gingerbread Menorahs, Dreidels, & Stars
We do not believe that Hanukkah should be celebrated like a Jewish Christmas, it's not. And we debated whether we should switch our gift giving to Thanksgiving, but truth be told, we just ran out of time, hopefully next year, but we do give gifts because we are so very thankful for God's gift of FAMILY and the light each one brings into our lives! With the girls basically adults now, most gifts are gift cards.
We enjoy having lights while we celebrate the Light of the World.
And yes, even though we don't do Christmas, I still enjoy reading each card & letter and displaying the latest photos of people we love. I haven't sent out any cards in years, but I keep thinking I should start sending out something maybe at Thanksgiving or at the end of the year.
Despite this photo looking rather eerie, the blue & white lights above the kitchen cabinets really do look festive in real life.
I was going through my emails just this morning and found out we missed an invitation to a "Festival of Lights" open house that would have been very fun. I hope they have it again next year!
Looking through the patio door with pompom garland draped down. Horses way out there! So far we are having a rather mild Minnesota winter, which I love (I hate having to trudge through deep snow to the barn and freeze to death), but hubs would like a little more snow for cross-country skiing. It's suppose to turn cold (-25 windchills ) soon.
Our last night of Hanukkah gave us some real-life examples of the Hanukkah story as our lamp ran out of oil and I didn't have quite enough traditional candles for our hanukkiah. No miracle happened here, so we used these oh so pretty Tag candles. :)
A couple random add-on photos:
It's now Christmas Eve and although our family doesn't celebrate Christmas, our extended family does. Traditionally we would be going to the in-laws for a family dinner/gathering, but Anna had to work late, so that has been postponed to ?, maybe January. But hub's parents will be joining us for lunch tomorrow as I didn't want them to be alone. So I'll have a smaller spread, not as much food as at Thanksgiving. We don't have any Christmas décor, in fact, our Hanukkah décor is still out. :) Anyway, here are a couple photos from today...
Icicles hanging from our greenhouse this morning. It was +18, not that bad by Minnesota standards, but there was a slight breeze that made it feel much cooler.
I find much of my groceries in our basement -- we eat homegrown & organic as much as possible. It makes all the hard work at harvest time so worthwhile. :)
We don't have a fireplace -- I wish! We had this on tv for a bit, but hearing the old songs flooded my heart with so many dear childhood memories of family and a simpler time with much more love & kindness -- both of which are just a fond memory.
I guess that wraps up this year's Hanukkah celebration.
Thanks for stopping in!
May You find Peace and Joy in knowing the true
Light of the World, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah)
with Love, jane
I love all your beautiful pictures of your celebrations! And I appreciate your comments over at my lonely neglected blog! Is this the year I give up? I don't even think about it as much as I used to. So sad. All things have a life span, I guess. I think back to our fun blogging days on HSB and am thankful that I can still find you here on the World Wide Web. :)
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you Jenn. You are my ONE faithful friend/visitor and comment-blesser! I know, when the kids grow up, there's less to write about I guess; I do miss the HSBer days. I do love when you post though, I hope you don't stop, but I understand. My blog is terribly neglected too and sometimes I feel like leaving, but I do have a few, very few, posts that seem to get a lot of traffic. I see other blogs that I admire, and they have zero comments and that makes me feel not so bad, except for them, so I hang in there always thinking I should post regularly. Love you Dear and happy that we can at least email one another.
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