So, uh...what's new?

Anyone have any big plans for the weekend? Some of you celebrating a major holiday? Some of you watching movies and eating Chinese food? Some of you, like us, doing a little of both?

Personally, I enjoy the Christmas season. Mostly I enjoy the "family-ness" of the holiday. Of course, I grew up as a Jew celebrating on Christmas day with my family. Not celebrating the birth of anyone and certainly not a G-d-like figure, but celebrating the fact that, because of the Christian-ness of this country, we were usually all able to be together because all schools and offices are closed, and that was what we celebrated. Of course, we did this on other Jewish holidays too. Passover and Rosh Hashana in particular. But Christmas in New York is really beautiful. The lights, the windows, and the mood...it's elevated in the city and it's just beautiful. I always get homesick this time of year. I want to be in New York, with my family, in the city I love with all the lights and the music and the mood and the windows. I just don't want to have to TRAVEL with everyone else in the country and two small children.

Admitedly, it's nice to be home here, in Portland, during this time too because, after all, the season is stressful enough without the element of travel, and packing, and the expense of all the gifts. This way, we're home, we spend time with my honey's family, life is normal, we sleep a little more, there's no rush to be anywhere and we can control the days we have before life begins as normal after New Year's Day.

My dear friend The Diner Girl has recently blogged about how we seem to have all lost the spirit of the season. How it's become a shopping frenzy and how it has become more stressful to celebrate the holiday than not. I agree. Now with two little girls and Hanukkah being so close to Christmas, there's been a tremendous amount of pressure to have gifts galore. I also want them to understand and appreciate the miracle we celebrate in Hanukkah. The miracle of the oil that lasted for 8 days instead of one. But also the miracle that the Jews were able to, once again, defeat their oppressors and be free to live as Jews once again. Hanukkah, while a minor Jewish holiday, is a good time to teach our children these lessons and to make sure they know and appreciate who they are and where they've come from and how lucky they are to be free and be Jewish.

What I DON'T want this season to be is a competition about what gifts they can get for Hanukkah and what gifts they get for Christmas. I don't want Christmas to be something they look forward to because of all the STUFF they get. Rather, I want them to appreciate their family and the fact that we can all be together. I want Christmas to be another nice day, not a present fest. And so we, in our home at least, are trying to spread it all out so that the gift pile is appreciated throughout the season and not just for one holiday over another.

Later, I'm sure, we'll figure out a way to make sure the girls understand that this is a season of GIVING not just receiving.

Anyway...whatever you celebrate, I hope you can use this season as a time to appreciate your family and all that you have, and I hope you can take a little time to remember that there is a world full of people that don't have the freedom to do that or can't afford to.

Happy Holidays to you and yours. With love from the PDXBlogmommy.