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PREPARING FOR THE FEAST OF DEDICATION
Another year of candle lighting, fried bread, and 8 nights of singing has come to an end! Oh, how we love Hanukkah! This truly has become our all-time family favorite feast! We look forward each year to a new theme and to be taught spiritually each night with small family devotionals. Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication because it celebrates the Maccabees’ victory over Greek oppression and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. This year we chose the theme of A House of Order. This order is found in Doctrine and Covenants 109 when the Kirtland temple likewise was soon to be dedicated as another house unto the Lord,…
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WHY THE MIDDLE CANDLE FOR OUR HANUKKIAH IS NOW PURPLE
This week we took time to remember the Feast of the Tabernacle. In continuing with my frequent posts on the joy of teaching my grandchildren what I am learning, I couldn’t resist sharing this precious moment. A few days earlier in the week, I told Alivia all about the middle candle and how it represents the servant, Joseph Smith. The middle candle is known throughout the generations in the Jewish culture as the “servant candle”. Her daddy suggested putting a purple candle in its place as it’s the color of royalty. Yesterday, as we were setting things up for our family feast and I asked Alivia to set the candles…
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WE ARE TO BE A LIGHT AND WITNESS
The Hanukiah may now have been put away until next year, candles are boxed up, but the season of “Light” has only begun. For many families, if you are like us, you have just spent time learning how God always sends someone at the darkest time to save his people and how likewise, following the example of the servant it is our responsibility to be a light in a dark and evil world. We are His “called-out ones,” called to stand out and be dedicated to His service. We are to stand courageous and strong against the ever-present powers of assimilation that endlessly seek to make us put a “bushel…
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WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR HOME CULTURE HAS BEEN INVADED
Last night my entire family joined in the Feast of Dedication, or Festival of Lights. We gathered for dinner and enjoyed a large family home evening. We kicked off the evening with Pa and Alivia making Navajo Tacos. This is our yearly tradition as we fry them in olive oil which celebrates the miracle of Hanukkah: oil that kept the menorah (an ancient lamp) lit for 8 days instead of the 1 day it was supposed to last. THE INVASION We then had our family home evening activities: You know how it goes…the typical F. H.E schedule with the opening song, family business, calendaring for the next activity, etc. Then…
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DEDICATING OUR HOME AND RE-DEDICATING OUR LIVES
This week was Hanukkah, a festival time of re-dedication. The story goes that after years of war, the Jews won back the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Greeks had invaded and destroyed the temple, making it a place to bring sacrifices to their chief god, Zeus. The Maccabees then cleaned the temple and rededicated it. DEDICATION The name Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew word “dedication.” The Maccabees gathered together and held a special ceremony called hanukat or habayit when they rededicated the temple. This story is celebrated each year for an 8-day festival with lights. We thought as a family that this would be a wonderful time to dedicate our new…
