December is one of my favorite times of year. For many of us, it means time to bring out the Bing Crosby songbook, time to unearth the scary Christmas napkins that look as if Santa’s had one too many eggnog. . . Time to break out the leggings and the dresses to go with the leggings and indulge in holiday noshings like mulled wine, pumpkin pie and endless hors d’oeuvres (I’m of the firm belief that sometimes, a dinner composed of nothing but holiday hors d’oeuvres is the way to go).

.

For many of us, December is also time to celebrate Chanukah! I’ve been a bit lax in terms of celebrating the holiday over the past few years but this was my first year celebrating with a significant other. However, since I’ve been a bit remiss in the celebrating of said holiday, this year’s Chanukah started a bit off kilter. Past attempts at Chanukah have included lighting candles over pieces of tinfoil as RAs watched fretfully (freshman year of college–no candles in the dorms allowed) and a failed batch of potato pancakes in Charlottesville one year (who knew you had to squeeze the water out of the potatoes to make them crisp?!).

.

This year, though, I was in a bit of a pickle. Hours before sundown, I realized I was sans menorah and clueless as to where to purchase one in Durham. Fortunately, our good friends down the hall (isn’t that what neighbors are for?) came in at the last minute with wine and menorah in hand. They’re inter-faith, just like we are, and while the Peanuts Christmas album played in the background, we lit our candles, said our blessings, and toasted the night away.

–Megan Fishmann, publicist

.

Happy Holidays to all! In honor of Chanukah, please enjoy this fabulous story on the holiday by Steve Almond from How to Spell Chanukah, a collection of 18 essays on the holiday edited by Emily Franklin.

How to Spell Chanukah