The Real Meaning of Christmas

Hanukkah

Today is the 3rd day of Hanukkah, and most of my friends ask me what it is like to celebrate this holiday with Dave, so tonight I took a couple of photos to show how we celebrated the lighting of the candles on this 3rd night.

Here Dave has lighted the Shamash candle. It is the candle that he uses to light the other candles from left to right, after the prayers.

Here is Dave lighting the candles.

Now Dave is placing the Shamash candle in the center of the Menorah, and we will wish each other a Happy Hanukkah. The candles will burn for about one hour.

This is what the Menorah looked like with the 3 candles lighted tonight. On the 8th night, it is quite a sight to see all the candles create a bright light during the dark December night.

Most people with young children will give the children small gifts each night after the lighting of the candles. Those without small children, like us, just exchange a gift on the first night. Then after exchanging gifts everyone celebrates with an fine meal.

This year I gave Dave a new atomic watch. It sets time with the atomic clock in Fort Collins every morning at 4:00 am.

Now Dave will always be exactly on time.

Dave gave me a beautiful limited edition painted Thomas Kincade snowman statue, that plays "Joy To The World". This is the 2nd Thomas Kincade snowman that Dave has given me. And each one is so different and so beautiful.

Well, this is just a small glimpse into our Hanukkah celebration. And I am so lucky, I get to celebrate 8 nights of Hanukkah AND Christmas!! I don't think life could get any better.

2009 HOLIDAY CARD TEMPLATE

After we sent out our Holiday cards, several people have commented and asked, "Where were you when these photos were taken?". So, Dave created this template to show our locations that correspond with the photos on the card. Enjoy and thanks for the comments on the cards.