This time of year is so special to us... we are blessed with a double portion, because we love to celebrate the deep meaningful Christian aspects of Christmas with our dear families, and also bring into our home the rich traditions within the holiday of Hanukkah.
Two of my favorite things about both, are the music, and the LIGHTS!
Lights warm us up when we are feeling the chill of winter...like the flicker of a flame in the hearth, or a candle on a romantic evening.
As a result, our house gets the royal treatment with lights. EVERYWHERE. And then during Chanukkah, we slowly light an extra candle each night, increasing the warm brightness of light all around our home.
While the chanukkiah menora is to celebrate the 8 days of the Jewish festival of lights, there are specific parallels that stand out to me. The "shamash" or "servant" candle, is what always is lit first, and then is used to light each other candle. This beautiful candle stands out to us as Yeshua, Jesus, did....He WAS the light of the world!
Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
He is the one who brings light into our lives, and the Spirit lives inside of us so that we can shine brightly for the world around us...the light of life. It is such a deep and powerful message, one that we love to share with our children each of the 8 nights of Chanukkah.
To further celebrate both holidays, we have decorations and ornaments all over the house! This year we decided to put a bit more effort into making the house a wonderland, and had a blast!
Dollar store goodies are fun to get creative with! One thing NOT shown here is the pack of coffee filters, that we made snowflakes with!
Every year since we married, we have had a tradition of buying/making each other and the kids ornaments! The result is a ton of ornaments, but all have wonderful memories...
This year, I made 5 "snowflakes", and it was so much fun! Yay for pinterest ideas! I tend to totally change them to fit my style, but the overall idea is great.
We have our large Chanukkiah that is on the piano, but also a small one that goes in the window to "let the light shine for the world to see". See? SO symbolic! I LOVE IT!
The table was my next plan to take up a notch. Again, I hit up pinterest for some ideas and found a great one about turning a vase or wine glass upside-down, candle "on" the base, and ornaments in the cup/vase itself! Perfect! I was in love....
You can't see it as well as I hoped, but since the wine glasses were clear when I purchased them, I placed a star of David sticker on the side before I spray painted "frost" paint on them. It is super pretty, and again...I love it!
Jason was amazing...he tied string to every.single.ornament...which was, like 60 or something? Even more, if you count the snowflakes. He is a rockstar.
One thing I am also loving this year, is the writing boards. I greatly encourage you to use them in your home decorations! A message of hope, a scripture, a phrase? Whatever you want!
Buy a frame, and cut out a piece of scrapbook paper that fits your decorations/theme (this will go in your frame instead of a photo). Use a dry erase marker to write out your message, and place in your home for all to see!
Lovingly,
Heather
