Projo Holidays Blog

I've been reading some of the survey responses from our many out-of-state visitors to projo.com.

I do have to say, if you're missing today's weather here in Rhode Island, you're not missing anything.

Cold, damp, dark.

But inside, we've still got the white lights on the tree and in the windows, some football on the TV, black beans soaking on the stove for cooking later today and ...

Lots of paper collecting on the hearth by the woodstove, as I go through my annual ritual of cleaning out pocketbook and bags today.

Boy, does it build up.

But the task helps me clear my head, as well as the stuff I tote around each day, and makes me feel refreshed for the new year.

Also on the to-do list for today:

Compress any two baskets of stuff into one.

Put away the Christmas gifts.

And leave all the clothes and dishes washed by end of day.

For more tips on staying organized, see what the professionals have to say at hgtv.com

And, oh, yes, start moving that paper trail to an online folder -- you may not save less, but at last it won't eat up desk, floor and wall space :)

Happy new year to all,

Andrea Panciera,
editor, projo.com

While New Year's Day is the big holiday on many calendars this coming week, there are several religious observances as well.

For Catholics, this Sunday is the feast of the Holy Family, commemorating the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and their flight into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod.

On Monday, Zoroastrians -- whose numbers are few worldwide but whose religion pre-dates Christianity by hundreds of years -- will begin their five-day seasonal festival, Maidyarem Gahambar.

On Tuesday, Orthodox Christians celebrate St. Basil’s Day and the Naming of Jesus Christ,
commemorating how on the eighth day after Jesus’ birth, his mother Mary, in keeping with Jewish law, brought him to the temple to be circumcised and given the name of Jesus.

Anglicans refer to the feast as the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Catholics celebrate it as the feast of Mary, Mother of God.

-- Journal reports

I'm sitting here at home, with a cup of coffee, enjoying the peace of our property nestled in the woods of Richmond.

It's a lovely, sunny morning, with just enough chill -- 38 degrees according to my window thermometer -- to remind one that it's winter.

(It's also keeping those Italian Christmas Eve leftovers in the coolers and big pot sitting on the back step at the right temp. It was my turn to host last night, and everyone said my baccala (salt cod) in tomato sauce was the best I had made yet. Thank you, Nana, for all the lessons over the years.)

It's also quiet in my house, with no little tykes up since 5 a.m. yearning for their gifts from Santa.

For Bob and me, it's a time of reflection, to sit back and look at the pretty Fraser fir -- drooping a bit, I must admit -- full of the ornaments my mother and aunt have given me.

For us newsies, it's also a welcome break from the craziness of the world. For no matter what your beliefs, it seems as if Christmas Day is the one time of the year when news takes a holiday, too. Especially bad news.

We like that. Let's keep it that way. As long as we can.

Happy holidays to you all.

Andrea Panciera,
editor, projo.com

A friend of mine from South Kingstown would bring his own handmade latkes to another friend's annual Christmas party.

They were a wintertime Jewish treat this mostly-Italian person had never tried to cook. Ken assured me they weren't that hard to make.

So, this year, I hope he's bringing them again.

But in the meantime, if you'd like to give the traditional Hanukkah offering a try, here are several versions of the recipe, from the classic potato to those made with zucchini and garlic. (Talk about a marriage of cultures.)

Another helpful hint from this writer at the Columbus Dispatch -- no need to fry them up while your guests are waiting. You can make them ahead of time, too.

AP photo
Noah Brezner, 4, holds a menorah while in his pre-kindergarden class at the Bertha Alyce Early Childhood Center at the Jewish Community Center of Houston yesterday. The class has been in preparation for Hanukkah for the past week.

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, begins at sundown today, which is at 4:15 p.m. in Providence.

The eight-day festival marks the Jewish people’s victory over their Syrian-Greek oppressors in 165 B.C. and the re-establishment of their political and religious freedom. It is customarily celebrated by the lighting of the menorah, an eight-branched candelabrum (with an additional server candle) with one candle for each of the eight nights.

According to the ancient story, when the Jews re-dedicated the Holy Temple, there was only enough oil remaining to light the Temple menorah for one day. Miraculously, as the story goes, the oil lasted eight days, thus the holiday’s duration now.

The method for using one additional candle in the menorah on each consecutive night of Hanukkah dates back to a compromise made by two first-century scholars, Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai, according to Rabbi Sarah Mack, associate rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Providence.

Hillel argued that the Jewish people should use one candle on the first night of the holiday and use an additional candle each consecutive night. Shammai argued that the Jewish people should light eight candles on the first night and use one less candle on each consecutive night. "And Hillel wins," Mack said.

If you’re lighting the candles tonight, put the candle for the first night of the holiday in the far right of the menorah, as you face the candelabrum. Another candle goes in the Shamash, which is the raised holder for the candle used to light the other candles.

On later nights of Hanukkah, when you have more candles in the menorah, place the first candle in the holder to the far right and then move left with the additional candles. Then, when you light the candles, light the one on the left first and move right, lighting each consecutive candle.

If you live outside of Providence, click here to find out when sunset is in your community. Go online to learn how to play the dreidel game that has held the interest of Jewish children for generations.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson (originally posted Dec. , 2006)

This Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent for Protestants, Catholics and Anglicans.

It marks the beginning of the church year and, together with the other days of Advent, is seen as a time of preparing for the arrival of the Messiah in the birth of Jesus at Christmas, marked on Dec. 25.

At sundown Tuesday, Jews will begin their celebration of Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights.

It celebrates the time 2,172 years ago when the Jews freed the Temple from their Syrian conquerors, bringing about a restoration of their political and religious freedom. Customs of the eight-day festival include the lighting of the Menorah, whose eight branches symbolize the Maccabees lamps continued to burn for eight nights despite having oil for only one. One additional candle on the Menorah is lit each day of the festival.

-- Journal report