Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Long time no blog, well there's no better time like the holidays, right?

Put on your yarmulke it's time for Hanukkah!

While the much of the world, and most of the BCS, is getting ready for Christmas, a few of us are celebrating a lesser known minor holiday known as Hanukkah. For those less familiar with the holiday, here's a little background...


This year especially is unique because for the first time since 1888 that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah coincide and thus creating a holiday fusion of epic proportions. Here’s a nugget of wisdom from one of my favorite Rabbi’s, Matt Rosenberg, the Director of the Texas A&M Hillel Foundation, “I like to think of Thanksgiving as a profoundly Jewish holiday since it involves giving thanks and gratitude to G-d (and the word for turkey in Hebrew is Hodu, which also means thanks!)  And with the holiday of Hanukkah, we are celebrating religious freedom for everyone, much like the pilgrims were celebrating upon their arrival on this continent.”

Like Thanksgiving (at least the spirit of it, not necessarily what had followed), it gives us a chance to express our love, thanks, and gratitude for the blessings in our life as well as spend time with our loved ones. The Hanukkah tradition, like Judaism as a whole, has evolved and is celebrated in various ways, but regardless of whether you light the candles every night or not, it’s a time to reflect on where we have been, where we are going, how we can collectively best perform the mitzvah (good deed) of tikkun olam (repairing the world), and your personal relationship with G-d.

So, here's to all of my fellow Jews and honorary hebrews. Happy Hanukkah and many more from the Krugel clan. May the warmth and glow of each candle you light make your heart and home happy and your Hanukkah bright it’s the Festival of Lights! Shalom - Peace to you at Hanukkah and always. 

We had planned on sending out tacky Hanukkah cards this year however due to family illness and well, Hanukkah being in November, we ran out of time. However here’s my formula for a Hanukkah-rific holiday card:


1 Part adorable puppy:



1 Ridiculously tacky, yet amazing, Hanukkah puppy sweater



Lots of shiny Hanukkah wrapped over sized boxes to use as a background



A few fabulous sweaters for the doting Mom and Dad
    






An awesome photographer and Voila!


Since we don’t have any kiddos quite yet, any future cards will definitely be featuring our furry munchkin!

About Mariam

Life is sweet

Life is sweet

And they lived happily ever after

And they lived happily ever after

One day a beautiful Jewish girl met a nice Jewish boy and made their mothers very, very, very happy

One day a beautiful Jewish girl met a nice Jewish boy and made their mothers very, very, very happy

About Me

For those of you who know me, writing has always been one of my passions, with the exception of my Masters or any ridiculously long testament within the wide world of Academia. I've only had the pleasure of blogging a couple of times, mostly for a few classes in graduate school, but figured it was time to organize my numerous thoughts and musings with all of you out there in cyber land. I created this page because my mind is always running and often times my thoughts get lost in the hubub. Plus, my friends have always said that I'm a great storyteller, so I'd love to share them now with you. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this... Throughout the past 33 years of my life I've seen, heard, and experienced so many different things as well as had many adventures and dream of so many possibilities. But in short, what it comes down to is this..I'm just a little Jubana trying to make a difference in the world. Everyday I live my life to the fullest and have fun doing it. Life can't always be about work or how much money you make. There's so much more to life than that.

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