Celebrating the Holidays

One of the worries about being a minority religion is 'how to make you kids feel like they are not the only ones'. Which can be a challenge. When my second son was in high school, one of the shul matriarchs asked him if he was dating and was she Jewish--he pointed out that it would impossible to date a woman his age who was Jewish because there were none, so yes he was dating but no, she wasn't Jewish. I am much less concerned about who they date and who they will marry. But the issue of feeling like you are in a crowd at a holiday celebration, that was an issue. I wanted them to feel like it was a party and they were not celebrating alone.
We have had two wonderful Hanukkah parties this year, one at the synagogue, and one in the home of a friend--both of them were packed to the rafters, can't easily find a seat kind of crowds, and it felt really nice to be part of that kind of an extended family celebrating a shared heritage. It does worry me to see dozens of menorahs with candles burning brightly and small children milling about--but, as my friend said this year (and she says every year), we haven't burned the house down yet.