12-18-2006, 04:25 AM
My adopted daughter is part Jewish. It's an open adoption, so we've always talked honestly about her heritage. We are Christian, and we're raising her as such, but at the same time I want my daughter to appreciate and celebrate her Jewish roots, and I certainly don't want her to feel that embracing her Jewish heritage is in any way an inherant conflict with being a Christian, especially if she continues to choose that path as she matures. (She's only 8, but I'm trying to pave the way for her thought processes down the road.)
This year I bought a menorah. My thought was that we could celebrate Hanukkah as a family and use it as an opportunity to thank God for his faithfulness to his people. Instead of focusing on the season's holidays as a form of identity (i.e., "we are Christian and we're NOT Jewish") I was hoping to consider Christmas and Hanukkah from a more spiritual perspective.
From this vantage point, I was hoping for advice on how we, as a "gentile" family, might properly honor Hanukkah. What we've done so far is simply say some ad-hoc prayers on what we're grateful for, but I feel like we can do something with more depth.
Thanks!
This year I bought a menorah. My thought was that we could celebrate Hanukkah as a family and use it as an opportunity to thank God for his faithfulness to his people. Instead of focusing on the season's holidays as a form of identity (i.e., "we are Christian and we're NOT Jewish") I was hoping to consider Christmas and Hanukkah from a more spiritual perspective.
From this vantage point, I was hoping for advice on how we, as a "gentile" family, might properly honor Hanukkah. What we've done so far is simply say some ad-hoc prayers on what we're grateful for, but I feel like we can do something with more depth.
Thanks!
