Results tagged “Hanukkah” from Kristin Swenson

 As my dear friend and colleague Jack Spiro says of this and other Jewish holidays, "They tried to kill us. We survived. Now, let's eat!" Good wishes to Jewish friends and family celebrating this Festival of Lights! Latkes for all. You may enjoy this column by Ben Romer, a Richmond-area rabbi -- a thoughtful meditation on the season. Did you know that although the book of Daniel is set during the periods of Babylonian exile and Persian diaspora, its apocalyptic sections (chaps 7-12) were probably written around the time of the great Hellenization crisis (167 B.C.E. and Jewish victory) that Hanukkah commemorates. Go, Maccabees! 

Tis the season. Our local Tacky Christmas Lights Tour is gearing up for some big nights, and I can smell wood fires burning in the 'hood when I walk my dog at dusk. Tis the season for lights garish and warm, subtle and... well, not so subtle. What with the cheap cost of electricity and urban sprawl, we hardly feel the fall of night, much less its long intensity midwinter any more. But our lizard brains know it, and we celebrate St. Lucia Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas with the awed delight of our fire-dependent ancestors. So, welcome the dark and let there be light!