Like every year, the question arises as to what holiday greetings should be used so that people who do not observe Christmas will not be offended. While many people see the generic “Happy Holidays” as a solution, one blogger pointed out that this really just means “Merry Christmas to those of you who do not celebrate it.”

Even in Israel, we have our own generic version of Happy Chanuka – “Happy Festival of Lights.” I guess Israeli businesses and municipalities want to avoid identifying the holiday by its name so that the many non-Jews in this country will also not be offended. But could it be that this is simply the Israeli version of the American “Happy Holidays”, i.e. it means “Happy Chanuka to those of you who do not celebrate it”?

In honor of this holiday of lights, fire and oil, here are some fiery links related to business, and some related to the business of being entertained – after all, this is a holiday, and shouldn’t you be taking time off work to enjoy this time with your family and friends? (Who’s that woman working on Chanuka…oh right, that’s me.)

Fire in your business:

• Have you ever thought about firing your boss and going freelance or starting your own business? “Fire your boss! The Successful Freelancer’s Guide” from SitePoint is a great article that discusses the pros, cons and issues you need to consider before you take the plunge.
• Making presentations is hard enough, but what if your audience is a bunch of hecklers? Instead of wiping the dripping sweat from your eyes, read “Presenting under fire: links to tips on keeping your cool“.
• This year Apple came under fire for batteries used in iBooks and PowerBooks that were causing fire. That’s something I would guess you want to try to avoid if you are an electronics manufacturer.

Fire for Chanuka

• So you’re standing by your chanukia (menorah for those of you outside of Israel) and suddenly realize that you have run out of matches. All the stores are closed and time is running out. Thank goodness your Internet is working, and you can discover all the creative ways to start fires with unusual supplies:

• Seven Ways to Light a Fire Without a Match shows you how to start a fire with only the tools supplied by nature, like flint, sticks and bark.
• Not the nature type? You’re more likely to have a coke can and chocolate bar in the house than some bark? You’re in luck, because you can actually create a fire from none other than a can of coke and chocolate bar, and even from a balloon!

• Did you know that “Chanuka” in Swahili means lighten up? Chanuka is a Kenyan woman who writes a blog called…Chanuka!
• And finally, here are some videos in honor of Chanuka:
• “We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel. Begin, Reagan, Palestine. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and it’s still a great song!
• Bon Jovi and his guest, David Bryan, wish the Jewish contingent in the audience a Happy Chanuka with Adam Sandler’s famous Chanuka song. You can see Sandler himself sing the song with the “Dreidelles” over here, and enjoy lyrics like:

You don’t need to deck the halls or jingle bell rock,
Cause you can spin the dreidle with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock – both Jewish!

Happy Chanuka!

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