​Kindlandia: Traditions Offer Kindness

Dearest Edythe,

This year the Christian season of Advent and the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah overlap. The first and last night of the eight days of Hanukkah coincide with the First and Second Sundays in Advent. On these days the faithful come together in homes, churches, and synagogues all over the world to light candles in Advent Wreaths and Hanukkah Menorahs. This one is at our Magnolia United Church of Christ.

Recently I heard a saying on a PBS Hanukkah special, “Each time we light a candle we connect with all those who have lit candles in years past.” As we celebrate our respective holidays, we remember those who gathered with us over the generations. It is as if when we light the candles the connections are illuminated in our hearts and memories.

I recall a touching story told by a seminary classmate after her recent trip to Jerusalem. She’d visited the Church of the Nativity—the location traditionally considered the birthplace of Jesus. One must crouch down and almost crawl through a tiny door to enter. Once inside visitors may kneel to touch a many-pointed star where it is thought Jesus was born. When my classmate knelt and placed her hand on the gold marker, she said she felt overwhelmed by the faith of the millions of people who had touched this spot.
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Our rituals give us the opportunity to be present to people in our midst and those who have come before us. This year Thom and I lit two candles for the second Sunday of Advent. We remembered you, dear Edythe and your family, and another one of our Writing Sisters, Julia Eulenberg, who passed three years ago. We recalled how we were welcomed into her home to celebrate Hanukkah and share in the lighting of the Menorah.

Julia’s daughter, Sarah Niebuhr Rubin, is a writer; one of her poems was on the Seattle City Buses and she is working on a novel. Follow the link to her Twitter account to learn more!

Each year as we celebrate our traditions may we light our candles and be bathed in the kindness of those dear to us now, those from generations past, and those yet to come.