Celebrating Hanukkah this year? It begins at sundown on Tuesday, December 20, and ends at sunset on Wednesday, December 28, 2011.
With bamboo already considered a universally kosher, clean plant, it seems only fitting to include it in your Hanukkah festivities this year.
Here are four tips toward achieving bamboo Hanukkah happiness:
1. Play Bamboo Dreidel. Whether you choose to use a bamboo toothpick or a block of bamboo, carved into the shape of a dreidel, bamboo will make it good, clean fun during those eight illuminated nights. Click here to refresh your memory on how to play dreidel.
2. Light Your Bamboo Menorah. Nothing gets you into the spirit of Hanukkah more than lighting your menorah. A bamboo menorah is a classy way to light up your home. Click here to see what we’re talking about.
The Menorah is also a symbol closely associated with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. According to the Talmud, after the Seleucid desecration of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, there was only enough sealed (and therefore not desecrated) consecrated olive oil left to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days which was enough time to make new pure oil.
3. Use a Bamboo Mezuzah. A mezuzah is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case) inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah (Bible – Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21). These verses comprise the Jewish prayer “Shema Yisrael,” beginning with the phrase: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
4. Give and Enjoy Bamboo Sheets, Towels and Shirts. Hanukkah is also about giving and receiving gifts during the eight-day celebration. Giving and enjoying the bamboo softness of Cariloha’s bamboo sheets, towels and shirts is a smart way to go.
Have a Happy Hanukkah from everyone at Cariloha!