Finding the Light: How a nostalgic sock puppet taught this 90’s kid and his doggo about the power of miracles, pawsitivity, and to rediscover Jewish joy in Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah, animal fam!

I grew up like most American families - celebrating all of the usual holidays without much thought behind them. Christmas was Christmas because it was a fun, festive season about the act of giving to others. Easter as an excuse for my parents to distract us for hours looking for hidden Easter eggs, which now looking back on it, I realize how genius of an idea it was. However, every year my mom would sit us down and we would watch Lambchop's Hanukkah Special, an hour-long movie featuring Shari Lewis, the creator of Lamchop's Play-Along and a proud Jewish woman. My mother explained to us that, although we don't celebrate it, we have Jewish heritage in our DNA. Honestly, I just enjoyed the hilarious, lighthearted, and witty characterization of Lambchop and all of her fuzzy friends while learning about some epic battle, oil that miraculously lasted for a long time, and tasty-looking treats called latkes. 

Photo via Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Now, how does this relate to anything? Well, in recent years I've done a bit of soul-searching. I also got a dog that I am literally obsessed with, and becoming a pawrent changes things. Your focus shifts to caring for another soul, something you love more than life itself, and you start to understand the things that are more impawtant for you. 

Photo of me and my puppy, Raja - Instagram / @wbseidel

This year, amidst all of the Christmas craziness, I was scrolling through Youtube for my usual end-of-day mind-numbing scrolling, and what came across my home page? Lambchop's Hanukkah Special. The whole thing is on YouTube! I sat down and watched the whole thing with my precious pupper. And you know what? I laughed, I cried, and I discovered something I hadn't felt for a long time - a sense of identity. Ever since then, I've been diving deeper into my Jewish heritage and the only thing it has brought me is happiness. I went out and bought a menorah, some candles, and we've been finding light in the darkness for the past seven nights. 

Raja - Instagram / @wbseidel

Raja is one of the many miracles in my life. She brings me joy every day when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep. She even brings me joy when I come home and find that she has torn up every single roll of toilet paper in the house (first I'm angry, of course, but then she looks at me with those big, puppy dog eyes and I immediately cave into loving her again). Not only did this nostalgic sock puppet teach me about the miracle of Hanukkah, but it also taught me to see the mini-miracles that happen all around me every day. And honestly, that's better than any Christmas gift I've ever gotten.

If you are looking for a good laugh from your younger years (or are interested in learning about Hanukkah), I highly suggest you watch the video on YouTube. It's a blast from the past that still gives the gift of giggles even to today!