Let’s make the 2019 holiday season as inclusive as possible!

It seems like so many of my friends are busy doing things like setting up Advent reading lists, telling everyone what books they want Santa to put under their trees, or which books would make good stocking-stuffers. That’s really lovely, and I’m glad that this time of year brings out such creativity.

But…

Here I am, feeling kind of left out because I’m the Jewish girl who lives in a country with such a small Christian minority, that there are hardly any celebrations (unless you go to out of your way to see some).

That’s why I decided I’d do something about this, and that’s how I came up with this brand new meme:

Now, don’t worry, you don’t have to be Jewish to participate. Plus, I’m giving you all two options for ways to participate, and finally, I’ll be setting up a link party for it as well, so anyone who wants to can join in the fun, and all the participants can see how the others took part in this meme! We’ll start with…

The Concept:

• Option 1: Take a look at the (suggested) topics for each of the Eight Days of Hanukkah listed below, and figure out what books you think are appropriate for them. Then make ONE post about them on your blog – either one for each day or one post for all eight. You can publish your post any time during the holiday! (If one book applies to more than one day, you can use it again!)
• Option 2: Just pick eight books you want to HIGHLIGHT (Hanukkah is the festival of lights, so that’s appropriate. They can be related to the holiday, or not, as you see fit, and tell us why you chose them! Again, either ONE post with all eight books, or eight posts with one book each!
• Add a link to your blog post through the link tool that will appear at the bottom of my own post. The tool will be open for all of the eight days of the holiday (and maybe a touch more).
• Share your post/s using the hashtag #EightCandleBookTag wherever you like to share your blog posts.
• Invite others – anyone of any race, creed, color, gender, or religion (or no religion at all) – to join in the fun!

For the REALLY ambitious bloggers, I welcome you to make EIGHT separate posts – one book for each day of the holiday!

The (Suggested) Topics:

• First Candle – All Alone – A book you love, but one that no one else seems to know anything about. 🕯️
• Second Candle – Two of You – A book both you, and someone special to you, have both really enjoyed. 🕯️🕯️
• Third Candle – Trifecta – A book where there is either a love (or hate) triangle, or with three different points of view, or something else related to the number three. 🕯️🕯️🕯️
• Fourth Candle – Foregone Conclusion – A book that you read that you knew you’d like or dislike before you began reading. 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
• Fifth Candle – Five-Day Work Week – A book that you felt reading it was hard work, but you were glad you kept at it and finished reading it. 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
• Sixth Candle – The Extra Sense – A book that scared you, worried you, or that was edgy or spooky in some way (doesn’t have to be a paranormal book). 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
• Seventh Candle – All Colors of the Rainbow – A book that just thinking about, makes you feel hopeful or happy, like seeing a rainbow after the rain. Alternatively, tell us about an LGBTQA+ book you like. (Which might be the same thing!) 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️
• Eighth Candle – Complete Miracle – A book that made you say “WOW” when you’d finished reading it. 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

The link party for this meme will start at 6:00am (Israel time – that’s GMT +2) on December 22, and stay open through midnight (Israel time) on December 30, 2019!

So, for anyone who wants celebrate, I hope you’ll join in on this meme, and let me know in the comments here!

Happy Holidays!