Chrsitmas @ MindSay 
It brings much joy on cold days like these
And it helps write Christmas greeting cards with a sense of inebriation.
many latkes later we sat with the cohen's in the den getting to know them, talking about places we had lived and families and work and values and it's delicious when you click with people like this right away. Jim met the husband playing tennis- he is a psychiatrist and so we invited the man and his wife to celebrate chanukah with us. and it could not have been better.
and they responded today with a christmas afternoon invitation- three kids a dog brothers granndmothers. and a pool table in the kitchen . It's an honor to know that the immediate affection we felt for them is reciprocated.
I went to my first ASG meeting where the slate of officers was unamimously elected ( i think they have to beg to get people on the board) anf the meeting took place in this fabric wharehouse that was 1l5 acres of everything textile. so what if it felt like I wa straveling to the farterest ends of east portland ( I was) and I tend to stay in the hilly little funky west side where we live- but what a bonanza. and every month they have a 40% sale so I have real incentive to watch my sewing budget so I can buy amazing fabric cheaply.
I have warped some wild colored threads for a purple shawl and maybe tomorrow I will dress the loom and get going. teh red table runner i was going to weave turned into an amazing sweater instead and I purchased some deep red damask to make a table ruinner andplacemenats for the newly painted dining room.
I really love making my own table linens and before long I may start making my own sheets - I have been doing pillow cases, duvet covers and bolsters forever--- but it might be fun to o it all myself. why buy a sheet for over $50 when one can buy very wide fabric in a yummy percale and maybe add trims and monogramming?
Yes home sewing and art sewing is my favorite as things do not have to fit- but I do have that kilt I disassembled last year because it ws a size 4 - did i ever have hips that narrow?- and i am reworking the fabric into a darted wrap around skirt- like the flannel one I just finished but this is a real tartan plaid.
at any rate I am back on the horse and doing well and my latkes were not like bricks but not the best on earth either. The roast chicken stuffed with fennel however was amazingly moist. Thank you Fisher & Paykel. I just shove the probe in the leg, connect it to the socket inside the oven , turn the probe temperature to 185 and it tells me when the bird is done. worls for any roast. Perfection is just a prick away.
Chanukah- spelled many different ways because it is an English transliteration of a Hebrew word- is not a major Jewish holiday. It isn’t even mentioned in the Tanakh- It’s a post biblical holiday and commemorates an historical event ( a military victory in fact) and due to ancient political factions have had myths built up around it. It’s not the Jewish Christmas, gifyts are not really a part of the whole thing- Purim is the traditional gift giving holiday- but have survived by assimilation and long ago it almost did them in.
So let’s look at the history. It was in the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, nearly twenty-two centuries ago, that the events took place which we commemorate each year at Chanukah time. The Jewish people had returned to the Land of Israel from the Babylonian Exile, and had rebuilt the Holy Temple. But they remained subject to the domination of imperial powers, first, the Persian Empire, then later, the conquering armies of Alexander the Great. The Greeks were great assimilators of other cultures and Jews have always assimilated well when permitted to do so. The word Pentateuch is Greek, Jews use the word Torah. Phylacteries is Greek; Jews say tefillin. Anyway. Jews assimilated while still observing their religion. Very much like modern America.
Upon the death of Alexander, his vast kingdom was divided among his generals. After a power struggle which engulfed all the nations of the Middle East, Israel found itself under the sway of the Seleucid Dynasty, Greek kings who reigned from Syria. These kings- one in particular, Antiochas, wasn’t very Jew friendly. And so The Holy Temple was invaded, desecrated, and looted of all its treasures. Vast numbers of innocent people were massacred, and the survivors were heavily taxed.
Antiochus placed an idol of Zeus on the holy altar, and attempted to force the Jews to bow before it under penalty of death. And he forbade the Jewish people to observe their most sacred traditions, such as the Sabbath and the rite of circumcision.
Antiochus went so far as to proclaim himself a god, taking the name "Antiochus Epiphanies" - the Divine. But even his own followers mocked him as "Antiochus Epimanes" - the madman.
A group of rebels- The Maccabees lead by Mattathias and his son Judah were not willing to cave in regarding religious rights and thus fought guerilla warfare and ultimately defeated the Syrian tyrants.
This is the event we celebrate: The overthrow of a people who want to limit religious freedom. History goes on to remind us that it was the Jews’ ability to continue to practice their religion onto Roman domination that eventually lead to the marriage and birth of Jesus of Nazareth- to many in the world a great prophet and to Christians – the divine presence of God on earth. So this is a sort of six degrees of separation which leads to the founding of the America with a basic tenet of religious freedom and ultimately to every Christians observance of Christmas.
So Chanukah is nice. We light increasingly more candles each night for eight nights to increase the joy of light in the darkness of winter. A lot of myths were made up about oil lasting for eight days but the essential concept of the holiday is recalling the right to observe religion in one’s own way- a message more important every year on this mixed up filled with enmity earth. And yes we eat things fried in oil- again due to the myths- things like donuts or potato pancakes (latkes) and some people do the gift thing which we never did. There is no fasting, no temple attendance required, a few small prayers said as we light the chanukiah ( Chanukah menorah) - recalling the season and importance of freedom. Yes the importance of freedom, for Muslims to observe their rituals and Christians to observe theirs and Hindu’s and Jews and Bahai and even Atheists- to believe what they believe about God and do it peacefully and without coercion.
Thank those maccabee boys when you put up your trees and open your gifts. It’s a good thing this freedom stuff, More people should try it.