Candles On The Porch

5-31-2018

I spent the day in the yard mowing and weeding. My husband got the weed whacker going so I was able to clear the path most of the way down to the creek before it ran out of gas. Talk about a sense of accomplishment. After a shower, I went back outside to sit on the porch to watch the sun set. When the mosquitoes started biting, I was inspired to light the citronella candles. Their glowing flickering flames wanted company, so all the decorative candles joined them. I sat on the porch, rocking gently, listening to crickets and frogs, watching the sky shift from light blue to dark purple as the stars appeared one by one. I breathe deeply smelling damp earth and cut grass, feeling the air cool off as darkness falls, bathed in the warm yellow glow of candle light dancing on the porch.

Menorah

12-19-2017 Magic Moment:

Tonight is the last night of Chanukah. The menorah sits on the counter in the kitchen with all its colorful candles blazing. The warm yellow light is vibrant and unwavering as it lights up the whole room, luminous and golden against the dark kitchen window. Our small house is brilliant with our own festival of lights glowing peacefulness as the tiny candles slowly burn down. Our little slice of holiday tradition.

Latkas For Chanukah

12-12-2017 Magic Moment:

Tonight is the first night of Chanukah! For a variety of reasons, we usually don’t light candles for every night, but we almost always do light them for the first and last nights.

Growing up, my family was loosely Christian; we celebrated Easter with the Easter Bunny and Christmas with a real tree, and Santa Clause, and once and a while a midnight mass at the cathedral downtown. My husband’s family is modernly Jewish and does not keep kosher. Up until a couple of years ago, they celebrated Passover with a huge feast and something resembling a Seder ceremony. So we have an electric menorah that sits on the sill in the front window next to the small electric metallic silver Christmas tree with fiber optic lights.

Chanukah for us is a quite time at home together. Over the eight nights, we exchange a couple of consumable gifts and light some candles on the menorah. He reads the prayer off the card that comes in the candle box. I really enjoy this little practice, taking the middle candle to light the others, and watching them burn down. Each night their light grows bigger, brighter, and cheerier as the magic of the burning oil passes down through the ages.

My husband also makes latkas at least once during Chanukah. I wash and grate the potatoes and he shapes them into small patties and fries them up crispy in vegetable oil. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper, dip in some apple sauce, YUM!

The first night of Chanukah always seems full of promise and possibility. A festival of lights to fill dark winter nights with joyful radiance.