Happy Hanukkah!

Last weekend began the 8-night Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. There are almost no Jews in Peru, so the holiday is not commonly known here. My host family has been very busy lately (December is a CRAZY month), so I haven't had much of a chance to share the holiday with them. I have been lighting the candles in my room every night, but not much else. I just let them burn down while I continue with my normal every day activities. Although one night was different. Night number 4-- my best night of Hanukkah so far.

I lit the candles in my room like I had done the first 3 nights, and while they were burning, I was wrapping Christmas presents. I was just doing my own thing in my room, when my little 5 year old host brother came in and saw the candles. He was so excited about them; he thought they were so beautiful! Mathias and I sat together and looked at the candles for a while. After a few minutes he said, ''Pero Caroline, faltan 4 belas!'' (''But Caroline, 4 candles are missing!''). I proceeded to explain the holiday to him, how one more candle is lit each night, etc. I even went into the story of the Haukkah miracle and why we light 8 candles. He was so intrigued by this new tradition he had never experienced. After explaining the whole story, it occurred to me that I forgot to tell him the name of the holiday! When I told him that it's called Hanukkah, his whole face lit up. He said that he had heard of Hanukkah on the TV. He was so excited that he had now celebrated it.

We sat together, doing arts and crafts and watching as each candle burnt out, one by one. We guessed the order that they would burn out, and each time one did, and the little ribbon of smoke would fly off of the wick of the candle, Mathias would laugh. He was so happy to be a part of this holiday with me. After the last candle had burnt out, I told him that normally families give gifts after lighting the candles, and that if he wanted, I would give him a Hanukkah gift to thank him for celebrating it with me. I went into my drawer and pulled out a box of his favorite candy that I had stashed away and gave him that as a present. He was so happy. He ran around the house showing the whole family that he got a Hanukkah present. After that, he came back into my room with his favorite arts and crafts set. He set it on my bed and told me, ''Caroline, te voy a prestar por 3 dias. Feliz Hanukkah!'' (''Caroline, I'm going to lend you this for 3 days. Happy Hanukkah!'')

It was such a fun night, and I loved sharing my traditions with my new little brother. I am so glad he and I had that experience together :)