On the First Day of Christmas...

December is here and that means lots of celebrating! We will be having very special posts through-out the month as we travel around the world with our talented design team to show you how they celebrate during the holidays. 

 

First up: New York, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, and Hanukkah/Christmas!

"I am part of a family that is a mixture of religions, races, and cultures.  And I live in a city (New York City) that is also a great mash up of religions, races, and cultures.  For me, Christmas and Hanukkah have always been linked by family, food, and ritual.  In the grand scheme of things Hanukkah is not actually a big Jewish holiday. It happens to coincide with Christmas, and that has kind of made it
into a big deal here in the U.S.  For those who may not know, Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 165 BC.  Although there was only enough
consecrated oil to burn for one day, the oil lasted for eight!  To celebrate, we light a candle for each of those eight days.  When I was growing up we used to gather around the menorah each of the eight
nights, sing the blessing over the candles, and my brother and I would both receive a present.  The eight presents were always small things -- sort of stocking stuffer-like gifts. On the years where Hanukkah
and Christmas overlapped, we would tear into our Christmas presents in the morning and light the candles in the menorah in the evening.

Nowadays it's just my husband and I.  We don't really exchange gifts for either holiday.  Instead we write love letters.  Just a little something to say how thankful we each are, how proud, how lucky -- how very blessed."

 

 

Julie is starting our Christmas Around the World celebration with a sweet project she made. Since her family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas, Julie created a layout showing how they blend them.

Journaling:

"In our family we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. We have a Christmas tree right next to the menorah. I've always enjoyed being part of a blended family that embraces our different cultures and traditions and melds them together."

 A few notes:

• Julie cut the shapes for the menorah and the Christmas tree from
patterned paper and adhered them to white cardstock.  Then she used
black thread to stitch around the edges of the shapes.  Next-cut the
shapes out and adhere them to the layout.  The layer of cardstock
creates some nice dimension.
• use foam adhesive to give dimension to the photo.
• Outline the letters with a gold pen for a royal touch.

 

Stay tuned as we travel from New York to Indiana tomorrow!

Comments

[Dolores]

absolutely beautiful! I love Christmas in NY!!!

[Erika M]

Lovely - I wish I could celebrate Christmas in NY!

[elisabetta]

very original

[Janine Rachau]

Clever! :)

[Cheryl S.]

Great LO by Julie. Lots of texture - love it!

[Sherri]

Absolutely loved your idea of combining the two celebrations!

[Anabelle]

Love your page! Celebrating both holidays is a wonderful way to honor the season!

[Renee77]

I love - love letters that's what my husband and I do for our anniversary which is 12/24 since we have no children and I get most of what I want when I want it there is no need to exchange gifts...It's such a nice way to remind eachother of how you feel and how much you are in love with them...I love this!!!