Monday, December 10, 2012

Happy Hanukkah!

I know that Hanukkah started on Saturday night, but it's never to late to say "Happy Hanukkah," light some candles, eat latkes and spin some dreidels. As you probably know, Hanukkah is more than just fried food and fun - there's a deeper meaning that all can celebrate.

It is a time to praise God for his faithfulness in the past. Just as God provided oil on Hanukkah, God promises to provide for us, and just like the Maccabees rededicated the temple for God's purposes, God calls us to surrender our lives to him. For more on the story of Hanukkah, read here.

It is always encouraging to celebrate with others, especially brothers and sisters all over the world. I echo what Sarah Palin posted on her Facebook page:


I had the opportunity to host a hall program (I'm an RA) celebrating Hanukkah. I partnered with a new group that had just formed on campus, Shalom Israel, so that students could experience Hanukkah with latkes and other Jewish food, Hanukkah music (here's my playlist), dreidels, an 8-foot-tall menorah and a paper on Hanukkah that they could take with them.

We had a blast. If you've never celebrated the Festival of Lights, I encourage you to do so. Here are some photos of our event:

Elizabeth Keiper making latkes for Hanukkah.
John Green, far left, discussing the history and significance of Hanukkah.
Kelsey Kobil with the 8-foot-tall menorah.
What will you rededicate to God during this Festival of Lights?

9 comments:

  1. This is so awesome! Love seeing this celebration!

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  2. Sounds like a great event, and the latkes look tasty. Thanks for posting the photos as well.

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  3. Caleb, this is great! It is really interesting to learn more about Hanukkah. I also think that it is awesome that you decided to organize this event and help our campus learn and embrace Jewish culture.

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  4. This is awesome that you did this. Imagine if you tried to do this at a school. You would probably be banished.

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  5. Good for you!!! So glad we're educating Grovers on other religions other than ours!

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  6. That's wonderful that you're able to celebrate that! I think it's really important to see the customs of Israel, especially as Christians. They hold some really great traditions.

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  7. This is so great! I feel like we so often overlook other religions, especially being at a Christian school, and I really appreciate your enthusiasm about Hanukkah! Your hall program looks like it was very successful!

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  8. That's cool that you took the initiative to celebrate this holiday at Grove City

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