On The First Nights Of Chanukah

On the first night of Chanukah we ate fried rice, fried in oil of course, lit the first candle on the menorah with the shamash and the kids each opened one small present. Rachel got bunny slippers and Sam got three chapter books.

These are our Mensches on the Mantle with our menorah on the first night. A separate post about our Mensches is coming later this week.

On the second night of Chanukah we participated in the LOGOS labyrinth at our church. Our church does a mid-week program called LOGOS and on the last night of the Fall term, there is a labyrinth set up in the sanctuary which each child gets to walk through. It takes about an hour for all the kids to go through and the rest of us sit in the darkness and wait. At the end, the labyrinth is lit by all the candles which the kids have carried to the middle, where two of our pastors lights them.

I was amazed that Rachel and Sam sat quietly, waiting their turns, and seemed to grasp the solemnity of the occasion. After the labyrinth was finished and the lights were turned on, Sam and Rachel continued to walk it, and a couple of kids pretended to be the pastors sitting in the middle. It was quite neat to see them role-playing this unique experience. We then came home and lit the Chanukah candles before bed.