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An American Girl Hanukkah

 Our daughter, Hannah, has two American Girl dolls. Her first, Kirsten, was a generous hand-me-down from my cousin. Last year, my Jewish grandmother fittingly bought her Rebecca, the Russian-Jewish girl.

A few weeks ago, as our creative little girl arranging her room for the Christmas season, she told Joanna that she needed to do some different decorations for Rebecca, since (as she explained) "Rebecca is Jewish, and many Jewish families don't celebrate Christmas."

I'm not sure what my wife was more concerned about -- Hannah's fatalistic theology, or that Hannah would double the number of decorations in her room.

Either way, I loved Joanna's answer: "Well, I like to think that Rebecca believes in Jesus, so she's a Messianic Jew."

Hannah was quite content with that solution. Crisis averted -- the doll's soul is saved, and Hannah's room only vaguely looks like a scene from Hoarders.

This week, we are excited to be celebrating both Hanukkah (starting at sundown on December 20) and Christmas. Be sure to read the post from last year on Why I Celebrate Hanukkah, to learn why a Messianic Jew like me finds this season especially worshipful.

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

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