Celebrating this year’s Hanukkah

This year, my family celebrated Hanukkah similarly to how we always celebrate. Each night we light the menorah and play dreidel. Also, every night a person in my family gives gifts to everyone. My parents always give us gifts on the first night and then the rest of the week my siblings and I each give gifts one night to all members of the family. The only difference this year is that my family is not hosting a Hanukkah party with our extended family like we usually do. One of our family friends is still having a Hanukkah party but it is over Zoom.

Also, instead of getting individualized gifts for my parents, my siblings and I decided to get them a present from all of us. We decided to get them a fire pit because we thought it would be a great gift. This way, we can have people over in our backyard, during the winter season, without freezing.

Hanukkah was especially memorable this year because it was nice to spend time with my family during the week and appreciate a celebratory holiday with them. It made me feel fortunate to celebrate with my family near and far! My favorite night of Hanukkah was the fifth night because that night we lit candles with all of my mom’s side of the family. It was nice to still keep one of our traditions, even if we could not be with our family in person like we usually would be. It was as good as it could get during this holiday season and I am happy we did it.

Although this holiday season is unusual, and it is disappointing that we can not gather with large groups of family members and friends, there are still many ways to make it enjoyable.