Festivities Abound

?I am Jewish (by all means)—born and raised. My husband, on the other hand, is not. Though I must say, I’m often overwhelmed by his knowledge about the Old Testament. The love he has for dreidels and potato latkes is astonishing. And yet, I have to remind him that he is not Jewish.

?“But look,” he always says, “I’ve been circumcised.”
“I see that,” I tell him, “but that’s not enough.”
“You mean the size?” He laughs.
“No silly. I mean it’s not enough to make you Jewish,” I say to him as I blush.
 
Still, we celebrate in our household both holidays, the Jewish and the Christian, which means our home gets more than just a handful of festive events. However, since our youngest child has left the nest, holidays don’t have as much significance in our lives as they used to. Sadly, now it’s seldom that we even celebrate any holidays.

?It was up until about six years ago that I spent an ample amount of time decorating the house for the holidays. For years I managed to put up two beautiful Christmas trees alongside a remarkable collection of menorahs and plenty of colorful dreidels. My trees were incessantly something to talk about—two live, full, tall trees, with hundreds of white and shiny lights. One displayed my unique collection of colorful, handmade jesters, which my husband started to collect for me when we got married.  The second tree was a bit smaller, yet splendid—dressed in colorful red, silver, gold, and green metallic ornaments. The taller tree took center stage in the foyer, where the high ceiling naturally compliments such a large tree. The other’s place was in the family room where big windows played tricks on the eyes, giving the illusion as if there were trees all around you.
 
“You put up the most beautiful trees I’ve ever seen. Thank you,” my husband said each year.