Holidays
Chanukah Poem
Chanukah is here again; the festival of lights
Candles lit and presents given for 8 amazing nights
That is the tradition; that’s how it used to be
Now it’s just a gift to find one night we all are free
We gather at my house; there’s brisket, salad and green beans
Fried latkes and challah bread and then sometimes we sing
Chanukah Oh Chanukah, Dreidle Dreidle or Maoz Tzur
We spin the top; it goes round and round on the table or the floor
If you get Nun or Shin you lose, Gimel or Hay and you are winning
Pennies, raisins or gummy bears are the payoff for your spinning
The adults pass out some gelt, shiny golden coins so sweet
Sometimes even real money and that’s always a treat
At some point in the night it’s time to read The Chanukah Story
It’s a simple way to explain why we are celebratory
It tells of wicked King Antiochus capturing Israel
He started idol worship the people didn’t like so well
Judah leader of the Maccabees with his war-trained elephants
Won battles and eventually righted this grave offense
Soldiers marched to the temple and smashed the idols with great fury
They wanted to repair and restore this holy places purity
They needed 8 days worth of oil to make the temple new
They only had enough for one, what were they to do?
Of course, God provided and the lamps for 8 nights burned
That’s what we are honoring, this miracle that occurred!
I have such beautiful memories from each and every year
As all of you, my children, learned and grew and now we’re here
All of you are parents now and it fills my heart with pride
To see how beautiful you turned out inside and outside!
And I’m overjoyed to share our traditions with my adorable grandkids
To watch them moan and look at each other the way you three always did
When underwear or socks were opened; the disappointment that would bring
And then the relief when a better gift was waiting in the wing
Speaking of gift giving it gets harder every year
And you keep saying to slow down though
I think you’ll miss the underwear
But seriously, I’m going to listen to your plan
I’ll still buy for the little Goobers as long as I can
But one last year in honor of dad and the Rhode Island place
I got some summer fun things to put a smile on your face
For the kids there’s water guns and sand toys, wiffle balls and bats
For you adults there are hammocks and colorful towels and mats
But I wanted you, my Bubbelahs, to have this poem to help recall
How important family is and how much I love you all!