Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights lasts for eight days. The Barry family of Delray Beach share how they celebrate this beloved holiday.

Front Row: Lisa, Kevin, Emerson and Dylan Barry
Back Row: Jeffrey and Lorraine Goldstein
and Nancy and John Cannella

For the next week every night as the sun goes down, the Barry's will be lighting the menorah and saying their prayers.

“We’re a non-traditional, traditional Jewish family,” Lisa says as a broad smile covers her face.

Traditional because they celebrate all of the Jewish holidays. Non-traditional because they do it with a “Barry twist.” Lisa is Jewish and Kevin is Protestant.

“I grew up in a neighborhood where half the kids were Jewish and the other half were Catholic. I was protestant,” Kevin says. So he always thought of the holidays rather than just Christmas or just Hanukkah.

On the first night of Hanukkah, Lisa’s parents, Jeffrey and Lorraine, and Kevin’s mother, Nancy, and his stepfather, John, gathered at the Barry’s.

One of the Barry’s family traditions is that all of the family always gets together for holidays. At Christmas Nancy says everyone will be at her house.

For dinner that first night, the family ate homemade pizza.

Lorraine says that’s because on Tuesday night when everyone - the aunts and uncles and cousins get together - the food will be traditional. Roast chicken, potato latkes and don’t forget the jelly doughnuts.

There will tons and tons of toys for the kids Lorraine says. “Hanukkah is for the children,” she says.

Four-year old Emerson clutching a bag of gold coins (made of chocolate) says they are one of his favorite things about Hanukkah.

Dylan, 7, wearing a mustache from his new spy kit says, “I like the toys.”

Lisa says later in the season they’ll put up a Christmas tree that will glow with traditional Christmas decorations. "And a few Hanukkah lights," she says.

“Seeing the boys say their prayers is my favorite part of Hanukkah,” she says.

Kevin says sharing the holidays has never been a problem for the two of them because, “We believe in each other,” he said.

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