Hanukkah

Hanukkah, being known as the Festival of Lights, is a eight-day Jewish holiday. It commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt.
The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a nine branched candelabrum called menorah. One candle called  shamash which is higher than the other eight candles usually is lit firstly, and then on each night one of the rest is lit by shamash. Before the candles are lit, blessings and prayer are resited.
There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil to commemorate the miracle of a small flask of oil keeping burning for eight days. Traditional foods include potato pancakes and jam-filled doughnuts.
In celebration of Hanukkah, Jewish children often play a game called dreidel. The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top imprinted with one Hebrew letter on each side. It is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game after lighting the Hanukkah menorah.

Fireproof

This morning I watched a movie called Fireproof. The theme of this movie is about love and relationships. The story began a young couple quarrelling. The husband, who considered offering mortgage as his only duty, was a bit selfish and always thought he was right. On the other side, the wife took charge of all the housework and felt depressed for not getting any respect from her husband. She wanted to buy expensive equipment for her mother who had a stroke but she could not afford it while her husband just was trying to save all his money to buy a boat. The conflict came to the point when divorce seemed to be inevitable. However, there was still love in their hearts. So the husband accepted his godly father's suggestion and tried to make some changes in a forty-day period. Meanwhile, more misunderstanding occurred between the couple. It was a very rough time for the husband. But at last, he overcame all his difficulties and rescued his marriage with true love. What a happy ending! I was touched by the efforts he had made and the courage he showed when he faced a tough situation. This film impressed me deeply, and I have learned much from it.

About Immigration and Culture

Some people say that Canada should limit immigration to those who agree with its cultural traditions. I don't quite agree with it. Canada is a multi-cultural country to which many immigrants come from different countries to contribute their talents. Although there are some differences between different cultures, it does not always lead to conflicts. Immigrants can get along with each other while maintaining their own culture and traditions. So I would like to suggest that Canada always retains its multi-cultural policy into the future.

From Unlucky to Lucky

This Thursday morning I took my G2 driving test. I got up early and set out at 7:45. When I arrived at the test centre, I found that I had forgotten to take my wallet and had left my G1 driving license at home. What a stupid mistake I had made! I did feel very remorseful.
   However, thank God, something seemed to change during the following hours. My coach asked another student who had a G driving test at 12 p.m. and still was at home to pick up my G1 license from my house for me. As a result, my test appointment was changed from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At last, I passed the G2 test with a kind white female examiner. I was very lucky as the examiner would have been a strict one if I had not changed the time and the result might have been different.
   Congratulations to me for passing G2 driving test!