HAPPY HANNUKAH 2021

Hannukah came a bit early this year, beginning last night. I always think of this holiday as being in December, so when it starts in November, it throws me off a bit.

But it’s actually nice to have both Thanksgiving and Hannukah come so many weeks before Christmas, because it elongates the holiday season.

In all honesty, though, I never really know exactly how to celebrate Hannukah. Mr. X and I light the menorah every night, (even though he’s not Jewish; so I really appreciate that he joins me for that lovely ritual. He even dons a yarmulke for it!) And I usually get him bags of chocolate “gelt,” (which actually means “money,” but all of us celebrants are happy to give children, and candy-addicted boyfriends, little mesh bags of foil-wrapped chocolate “coins.”) But that’s it. He and I need virtually nothing else in life, outside of services, such as massages, facials, and haircuts, so there’s not much left to give each other in the gift category. (Too bad for us, because this holiday lasts eight days and nights, so there’s plenty of time to give/receive a plethora of gifts!)

So what I’m planning to do for Mr. X once again this year, as I have for the past few Hannukahs, is to spend at least an hour on each of the eight days/nights gathering more fabulous items for my next upcoming Holiday Gifts Garage Sale! I adored that the people who chose all their Hannukah gifts at my most recent event were all soooo thrilled, even though I have a feeling they kept a lot of those items for themselves! That de-cluttering actually gave all of us a good time—Mr. X, my friends who help with the garage sales, (therefore they get gifted a bit themselves,) the buyers, the recipients of those purchasers’ gifts, and especially moi, because, more than anything, I love seeing people be so happy! So I’ll be thrilled to purge even more as my Hannukah gifts to Mr. X this week.

By the way–the items I offer are all new, (meaning not used, so great for gifts,) but while I work for those eight days and nights, I also gather all of my year-end charity donations. That’s another win-win-win. (I have a suggestion of a new lovely place for you to donate yourselves; I’ll tell you all about it in an upcoming article.)

For me, doing all that is the absolute best way to celebrate my heritage. So, Happy Hannukah to me!

In addition to that mirth, I have one Hannukah tale for you at the start of this lovely holiday. Actually, just as it occurred to me to share it with you this year, I discovered that I had alluded to the heartwarming holiday story four years ago! I apologize now because to give my readers an incomplete story is just not right. Doing that is basically a shonda! (You see how much more Jewish I get around my own ethnicity’s holidays?!)

So I’m fixing that oversight right now by giving you that whole happy Hannukah history here:

Many years ago, on Hannukah, I had just returned home from a lovely late afternoon latke party. I got into bed for a bit, to continue the coziness, but I left the bedroom door open so I could hear Mr. X watching It’s a Wonderful Life in the living room. We had gotten a beautiful little toy poodle a few weeks before, and had named him Clarence, after our previous dog, Bud. (Bud was then an angel, and our favorite angel is Clarence from the film It’s a Wonderful Life. Hence the moniker.) But after a few days, and with Mr. X having to travel for a while, we had asked the breeder to take him back because we felt we just couldn’t care for a dog in our crazy busy lives. But as I lay there that evening, basking in the Hannukah camaraderie I had just experienced that day, and hearing Jimmy Stewart invoke the name “Clarence” multiple times, I seriously felt that I had just abandoned my child. And around the holidays, to boot!!! So I jumped up and started yelling that we had to get our dog back!

And that’s just what we did. While it was still Hannukah. So I always associate Clarence, who is one of the three loves of my life, (Mr. X and Bud being the other two, of course,) with this holiday. And actually, with Christmas, too, because It’s a Wonderful Life is basically a Christmas movie.

And that is how our precious Clarence got into our lives for good, thus making it truly a wonderful life for all concerned. And it all happened during Channukah.

I hope that all of you have some wonderful holiday memories, as well. I’d love to read them, so please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

I wish a very Happy Hanukkah to all my readers who celebrate this holiday. And please continue to stay safe!