Have you been fortunate to experience a holiday from a religion or culture different from your own? If so, tell us about it! If not, which would you choose to experience?
Hello everyone! I usually look forward to the end of the year because of the yuletide season and the celebrations that follow. It's one of my favourite times of the year due to the cheers, the joy, the overflowing generosity, the decorations, the parties, the carols and of course, there's always lots of food to eat! Hehe.
I have never witnessed nor experienced a celebration from a religion or culture different from my own. Thanks to @thekittygirl, I get to explore other celebrations and so I will settle for the Hanukkah celebration.
My reasons for wishing I could experience a Hanukkah celebration is mostly because it's a family-themed holiday that is similar to Christmas. That's the beauty of these end of the year holidays —celebrating with our loved ones.
I understand from the little I have read about this celebration that it's a Jewish celebration marking their revolt against the Seleucids who during the second century B.C. forced their religion on the Jewish people.
After the revolt and reclaiming of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Jews lit a seven-branched lighting fixture, called a menorah. It had little oil in it which should last a night but miraculously it lasted eight nights! This miracle inspired the eight-day-long celebration known as Hanukkah.
In my country, we have never experienced Hanukkah because we don't have Jews amongst us except maybe tourists who come and go. So I would not know what the celebration is like but I understand it's always a family affair.
Any celebration that is a family affair is one I definitely want to be a part of. For those who celebrate Hanukkah, it takes place around late November to the first week of December. Candles are lit one by one each day until the eighth day when the eighth candle is lit signifying the miracle of lights.
I would love to partake in the lighting of the menorah, join in the singing of Hanukkah songs and dancing. I also understand there's the exchange of gifts! This is something I am familiar with during Christmas and who does not love gifts?
Another fun part of celebrations and part of Hanukkah is the spread of delicious foods! Hehe. I understand traditional Hanukkah meals are oily meals such as fried potato pancakes called latkes, fried doughnuts filled with jelly called sufganiyot etc. These are foods I would not want to miss out on.
Hanukkah seems like a fun celebration and very similar to Christmas. So it's a holiday I would definitely want to experience. Happy Hanukkah to those celebrating!
This is my entry to the Ladies of Hive Community Contest #60 and I invite @preets and @iskafan to join in the fun!