Gaston Library discussion

This year, Hanukkah begins on December 10th and Kwanzaa begins on December 26th.

Here are some great reads to commemorate these upcoming celebrations.

The Art of Jewish Living: Hanukkah by Ron Wolfson
"Designed to help celebrate and enrich the holiday season, explores the holiday's origins, the reasons for the Hanukkah candles and customs, and provides everything from recipes to family activities. Putting the holiday in a larger, timely context, "December Dilemmas" deals with ways in which a Jewish family can cope with Christmas." (Goodreads)


Kwanzaa Crafts: Gifts & Decorations for a Meaningful & Festive Celebration by Marcia Odle McNair
"Drape your home in the traditional African red, green, and black, and celebrate Kwanzaa in high style with this brightly illustrated collection of stories, crafts, poetry, and recipes. It goes day by day, presenting the principles, symbols, and candles for each. On the first strive for umoja: unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Light a black candle, and set out a mazao, or basket of fruits, vegetables, and nuts -- which you can make yourself, along with a delicious Nigerian Mango salad. Instructions cover wreaths, a colorful kente-cloth tunic top, a mkeka or woven-straw placemat, a Kwanzaa banner, scrapbook, and decoupaged kinara -- the ritual candleholder. With these glorious projects you're sure to remember the principle of the sixth day: Kuumba -- or creativity!" (Goodreads)


Eight Tales for Eight Nights: Stories for Chanukah by Peninnah Schram
"Eight Tales for Eight Nights: Stories for Chanukah is a book created to inspire the sharing of stories between generations during this wondrous holiday time. Gifted storytellers Peninnah Schram and Steven M. Rosman have gathered, from every corner of the Jewish world, tales that reflect the customs and traditions of Jews as they have lived throughout the ages. These are stories meant to be shared. They are intended to be read by adults to children, by friends to friends, as they celebrate the holiday together. These stories are themselves a celebration of Jewish memories. They will spark the reader's own tales and kindle the flame of one's imagination." (Goodreads)


A Kwanzaa Keepsake: Celebrating the Holiday with New Traditions and Feasts by Jessica B. Harris
"This festive cookbook captures the true spirit of the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa, providing more than 50 recipes in menus for each night of Kwanzaa, plus inspirational biographies of ancestors of the African-Atlantic world and special projects for each of the seven days. Illustrations." (Goodreads)


Hanukkah in America: A History by Dianne Ashton
"The ways in which Hanukkah was reshaped by American Jews reveals the changing goals and values that emerged among different contingents each December as they confronted the reality of living as a religious minority in the United States. Bringing together clergy and laity, artists and businessmen, teachers, parents, and children, Hanukkah has been a dynamic force for both stability and change in American Jewish life. The holiday's distinctive transformation from a minor festival to a major occasion that looms large in the American Jewish psyche is a marker of American Jewish life. " (Goodreads)


The Complete Kwanzaa: Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest by Dorothy Winbush Riley
"Celebrated between December 26 and January 1, Kwanzaa gives African Americans an opportunity to reunite with family and friends, and pay tribute to their rich cultural heritage. More than just a holiday guide, this book gives an inspirational explanation of the seven principles of Kwanzaa." (Goodreads)


Chrismukkah: Everything You Need to Know to Celebrate the Hybrid Holiday by Ron Gompertz
"A holiday guide for mixed-faith families who celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah presents an entertaining guide to the hybrid holiday of Chrismukkah, exploring a wide range of seasonal events, history, traditions, and lore, while offering tips on decorating, tchotchkes, menorah options, games, recipes, and party do's and don'ts." (Goodreads)


Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture
by Maulana Karenga
"This remarkable book for young adults is written by the creator of Kwanzaa, Maulana Karenga, who conceived of, named, and then began vigorously promoting the holiday over three decades ago. With clarity and warmth, he presents a compelling picture of Kwanzaa's special role for people of African descent." (Goodreads)


How to Spell Chanukah: and other holiday dilemmas by Emily Franklin and Various Authors
"These essays, by Adam Langer, Tova Mirvis, Steve Almond, Eric Orner, and others, range from the comedic to the snarky, the poignant to the poetic, and includes such topics as the jealousy experienced in December when the rest of America is celebrating Christmas (we never get to join in the reindeer games!); the problem parents have dampening their children's desire for more presents (call it Greedikah!); and the weight gain associated with eating 432 latkes in eight nights (dayenu, enough!). Whether your Chanukahs were spent singing "I have a Little Dreidel" or playing the "Maoz Tzur" on the piano, whether your family tradition included a Christmas tree or a Chanukah bush, whether the fights among your siblings over who would light the menorah candles rivaled the battles of the Maccabees, or even if you haven't a clue who the Maccabees were, this little book proves there are as many ways to celebrate Chanukah as there are ways to spell it." (Goodreads)

I will definitely be adding Chrismukkah to my reading list!