Today we're celebrating Channukah here. A week after Thanksgiving.
Which means that in the last week I had to carry about two dozen giant ass bins that Squishy, Oliver, and I could have fit into which were all full of winter holiday decorations, bring all the fall stuff down to the basement, bake a thousand cookies, finish inking a coloring book, and get that and another book scanned to edit, and do all the shopping and gift wrapping for Channukah.
Yes, I made that a hell of a run on sentence for emphasis.
It's been a week of madness, and much earlier that we would normally do Channukah, for stupid reasons.
However, this holiday, and how we celebrate in particular, is my favorite thing about the holidays. Inviting everyone we know, to celebrate and give to show care and affection. Putting together this grand gesture of acknowledgement, without expectation or obligation. A day of food, and giving, and silly tradition.
I disagree with a lot of what Christmas has turned into, in many ways. I dislike the pressure associated with it. The social obligation, and how commercialized it's become with needing to outdo others, or create these over-extended gestures just to show off and gloat to others.
But then we have Channukah. Where it is just barely present enough, but no one has that same push to do so extravagantly. Where we can hand out boxes of cookies, and token gifts which have more thought in them than larger cold and impersonal gifts. I often hand out hand made gifts at Channukah, seeing tons of happy faces as they all look at the pile of unique things made just for them.
Channukah for me is what the holidays have claimed to be for. So while I have had an insane week leading up to this, I'm grateful to hold onto this feeling and tradition.
Which means that in the last week I had to carry about two dozen giant ass bins that Squishy, Oliver, and I could have fit into which were all full of winter holiday decorations, bring all the fall stuff down to the basement, bake a thousand cookies, finish inking a coloring book, and get that and another book scanned to edit, and do all the shopping and gift wrapping for Channukah.
Yes, I made that a hell of a run on sentence for emphasis.
It's been a week of madness, and much earlier that we would normally do Channukah, for stupid reasons.
However, this holiday, and how we celebrate in particular, is my favorite thing about the holidays. Inviting everyone we know, to celebrate and give to show care and affection. Putting together this grand gesture of acknowledgement, without expectation or obligation. A day of food, and giving, and silly tradition.
I disagree with a lot of what Christmas has turned into, in many ways. I dislike the pressure associated with it. The social obligation, and how commercialized it's become with needing to outdo others, or create these over-extended gestures just to show off and gloat to others.
But then we have Channukah. Where it is just barely present enough, but no one has that same push to do so extravagantly. Where we can hand out boxes of cookies, and token gifts which have more thought in them than larger cold and impersonal gifts. I often hand out hand made gifts at Channukah, seeing tons of happy faces as they all look at the pile of unique things made just for them.
Channukah for me is what the holidays have claimed to be for. So while I have had an insane week leading up to this, I'm grateful to hold onto this feeling and tradition.
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