Chrismukkah!!

Tis the season for nervous breakdowns, fa la la la la la la la la la.

At our house we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah. Gary puts up the tree and puts all of our ornaments on there. We have accumulated ornaments over the 20 years he and I have been celebrating Christmases all by ourselves. The first few years we were poor. Really poor. I went out after Christmas the first year and got a fake tree for 29.00 at K-Mart. I've had it ever since.

This year when Gary went to put it up, it started dropping needles like a dead live tree would. Which was pretty comical in itself. Then when he went to fluff the branches one of them fell off completely the wire broke. So, Joel and I are now trying to decide do we invest in a new tree.

The complexity of the situation is that traditionally there are no Christmas trees in Hanukkah. However, some people we know do have "Hanukkah" bushes which are more evergreen trees decorated with blue and white lights and dreidles, angels, snowmen, and stars of David. Gary is getting married in a year and a half so he won't be here to do the tree every year. Therefore, should we get a tree or not. Hannah has always had a tree and loves to decorate it. Still we really are trying to teach her the values and traditions of Judaism. Hanukkah is quite cool. We light candles for eight nights and she has an adorable Pooh menorah that she loves. We play dreidle and I make latkes a couple nights and a special dinner a couple nights and sufinagyot at least one night over the weekend (they are jelly doughnuts). We exchange presents every night and she really makes out between us and family she's usually opening 4-5 present every night. All things being equal, this is probably better than I made out for Christmas gifts and believe me I did really well at Christmas. Santa was really generous to my brother and I.

Still, the tree is a quandry. So I was thinking, if we keep a tree rather than calling it a Hanukkah bush or a Christmas tree, we could call it a memory tree. A memory tree came to mind as I was on my way home last night. Every year I buy a new ornament for Gary, Joel, and Hannah that is symbolic of something they like. Gary has gotten Snoopy ornaments for many years cause he loved Snoopy. Michael got hockey and Flyers ornaments when he lived with us. We have Sesame Street ornaments that Gary had as a baby and that Hannah now loves. We have Nutcracker ornaments that I bought after Christmas one year with Michael's real mom before she died. I have an ornament she gave me and several Karin did when she was alive. I have the cowboy boot Joel gave me the first year we started dating and the one we bought on our honeymoon and when we took Gary to Disney before he graduated highschool. The tree is full of memories. Additionally, my stepmom, Mikey sent me a bunch of ornaments that she and my Dad picked out before he died. I was thinking that this year I would buy a few ornaments in memory of the family and friends that I have lost to add to our tree, too. Hence, a memory tree.

I was thinking that for Aunt Laura who was a bell telephone operator and loved her martini's that I would either find an old fashioned telephone ornament or a martini ornament for her. My dad loved golfing, fishing, and cars and was an accountant by trade, however his love was the 1965 Baracuda we had back in the late 60's. That is the ornament I'd love to find for him. Would be great if I could find a green or brown one since the car was green originally but green was bad luck in racing and rallying so he painted it metallic brown. Karin loved Lighthouses and all things red, white and blue cause she was born on July 5th, 1950. I would love to find a red white and blue lighthouse for her. My uncle Tom, loved me most of all, I think, but he loved beagle dolls and hunting deer, so that would be what I'd like for his ornament. I thought I could do this with all the loved ones we've lost over the years and put their names and dates of birth and death on them too. So, each year when we are going through all those memories and those we love most are gathered near, we can still have those we miss most as part of the festivities. There is just something about all these wonderful memories and people that makes the holidays so very special for me. I'd like for Hannah to share that much of the tradition.

Since it's all about traditions too, I'd like to be able to incorporate the memories and fun that we associate with the tree decorations and going through each year and laughing at what each signifies or what year we bought it or who gave it to us. This is the part of Christmas that I hold most dear. So, when we merge into Chrismukkah for yet another year, I try to stress the beautiful aspects of Hanukkah and the special things that make it unlike Christmas, while still allowing the traditions of Christmas to glow throughout our house as well.

It's interesting to watch. Hannah wrote a letter to Santa today. She dictated I wrote. It went something like this.

Dear Santa:

I have been a good girl. I got your message about having accidents and I will try really, really hard to not do that anymore. I promise. How is Rudolph? He as a red nose that is shiny. I know you can see me because the gingerbread man you sent me told me. I wanted to tell you what I want for Hanukkah or Christmas. We do both. I want......

It was great to hear her asking Santa for presents for Hanukkah. What a hoot. I'll bet the mall Santa will be floored when he hears this one. Still, the traditions and religions all seem to be melding nicely at our house. Mostly Jewish, but culturally diverse.

Whatever you are celebrating, I hope it is happy!!!