It is Hanukkah this week, and my home is filled with menorahs, white lights, and candles. I am reminded once again, is it isn’t the things that make the holidays, it is the people we share them with. I have all the recipes out, the decorations up, but it just doesn’t feel the same. It is just my husband and I this year, and although that is cozy, traditionally we have about 40 people or so come through our home during these 8 crazy nights. Sometimes dinners included from 20 to 30 people, I have it down, roasted chicken, challah, latkes, wine, and chocolate desserts. This year, it is hard to imagine downsizing this tradition.
But again COVID rules the season. We are in a huge spike of cases, with the probability of it getting worse in the next few weeks. We are asked to not travel, to stay home as much as possible, and to not have anyone who is not in our immediate household in our homes. Today the first vaccine will be released, but it is months before there will be enough out there to make a difference. I will get to see my daughter and son-in-law, but any hope of large gatherings are gone. So we stay apart so we can be together in the future, but I am not going to pretend this doesn’t suck. So after pouting awhile, I realized I craved connection, and if we can’t be together, then how can I deliver the holidays to friends and family?
This year more than ever I think we strive for connection, old fashioned connection. December 1st hit, and I ordered holiday cards. We celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas in my house, honoring my past and my present. I felt nostalgic and I ordered cards and the stationary to attempt to write that December letter. It will be hard this year to write because I really want to try to say something that inspires people that we will get through this, and yeah, along the way we had some great things happen. My son is a doctor, my son in law wrote a book, my daughter is a dynamic teacher both in person and now in digital learning spaces. We all found small ways to thrive. Maybe that is what the message is this year, let’s find a way to thrive.
Well, I have discovered that many of us feel this same sense of nostalgia, as my mailbox, not my inbox is full of holiday cheer. I think the pandemic has caused a time to pause on what really matters. I have heard from friends already that I haven’t heard from in years. I really appreciate the traditional holiday card, the photos, the snippets into people’s lives, the good, the bad, the funny. I think we all are taking stock of what matters, and more than ever, although Amazon drops boxes off almost daily, this holiday really is about the people in our lives. I hope I remember this next year when God willing, we gather in huge groups together, hug, making chicken and latkes for dozens of friends and family won’t be a chore, but instead a celebration.
I’m off to write those holiday notes, hope you find a way to bring a bright light to these dark days today.