Hanukkah starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. This year Hanukkah begins on December 20th and lasts until December 28th. Our family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. We are a dual-faith family and there are many of us out there. Neither my husband nor I are particularly religious by text book standards. We don’t attend services and we do not belong to a church or synagogue. Our approach to religion and how we incorporate it in our lives is very specific to our family and, as religion should be, a personal choice. Despite the pleading from our children in years gone by (they’ve given up now) we do not give gifts on Hanukkah and Christmas. We leave the gift giving for Christmas. Traditionally, gift giving was not a big part of Hanukkah and has become more popular in the United States. We celebrate... Read the Rest →
Hanukkah starts on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasts for eight days. This year Hanukkah begins on December 20th and lasts until December 28th. Our family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas. We are a dual-faith family and there are many of us out there. Neither my husband nor I are particularly religious by text book standards. We don’t attend services and we do not belong to a church or synagogue. Our approach to religion and how we incorporate it in our lives is very specific to our family and, as religion should be, a personal choice. Despite the pleading from our children in years gone by (they’ve given up now) we do not give gifts on Hanukkah and Christmas. We leave the gift giving for Christmas. Traditionally, gift giving was not a big part of Hanukkah and has become more popular in the United States. We celebrate... Read the Rest →
Andorra is an autonomous and semi-independent co principality under the joint suzerainty of France and Spain since 1278. Andorra shares closer ties with Spain with Catalan as its official language. Located high in the Pyrénées Mountains on the French-Spanish border Andorra’s climate is that of the high mountains; generally dry, cold in the winter and mild in the summer. Naturally the food of Andorra reflects its geographical location so it isn’t surprising that one of the best known Andorran dishes, called “trinxat”, combines foods that are readily available in the Pyrenees. Potatoes and cabbage are common and could be grown locally since the climate permits. Pork is also easily available as cattle do not do well in a mountains region where grazing areas are limited. Perhaps a fresh mountain breeze is also needed when preparing this dish. The aroma of boiling cabbage combined with frying bacon is definitely not in... Read the Rest →
Andorra is an autonomous and semi-independent co principality under the joint suzerainty of France and Spain since 1278. Andorra shares closer ties with Spain with Catalan as its official language. Located high in the Pyrénées Mountains on the French-Spanish border Andorra’s climate is that of the high mountains; generally dry, cold in the winter and mild in the summer. Naturally the food of Andorra reflects its geographical location so it isn’t surprising that one of the best known Andorran dishes, called “trinxat”, combines foods that are readily available in the Pyrenees. Potatoes and cabbage are common and could be grown locally since the climate permits. Pork is also easily available as cattle do not do well in a mountains region where grazing areas are limited. Perhaps a fresh mountain breeze is also needed when preparing this dish. The aroma of boiling cabbage combined with frying bacon is definitely not in... Read the Rest →
