Last night we took out a pair of menorahs and lit Channukah candles. I can't remember the last time I did that -- it may have been 16 years ago. Somehow I remembered all of the blessings, rules and laws about lighting Channukah candles - place them right to left, but light them left to right; 8 candles must be at the same level with the ninth slightly higher (or it isn't Kosher), etc. I haven't thought about that for decades, but somehow those bits of trivia are still kicking around.
It was nice. With all the commotion about Xmas and the associated end-of-year shopping season here on use.perl, it was good to get back to the basics. Channukah isn't about presents or spending money or anything like that. It's about lighting candles, frying food and eating chocolate (although that's a late addition to the holiday).
Tonight, I'm looking forward to another traditional Channukah meal -- curried shrimp. :-) :-)
