Spread the Joy: Advent 2025: Day 14

Tonight marks the first night of Hanukkah. With my wife being of Jewish heritage, I traditionally honor her with one day of my annual Advent being devoted to my bride and her tribe. But since I am focusing on charities this year with her help, I decided to honor someone from my childhood who made me interested in Jewish culture and prompted me to make marrying a Jewish woman one of my martial goals! That person would be Dr. Burton Horwitz, D.D.S. 

Now growing up, I wasn't a fan of the dentist. My mother took some bad advice and didn't have me going for regular checkups until I was maybe 3 or 4. As a result, my mouth was lousy with cavities. I hated the adolescent torture device known as a 'raincoat', which was these rubber stoppers that got wedges into your jaw to keep your mouth open during a procedure. To this day, if I have to have a filling or more than likely a cracked tooth fixed, I tell my dentist: 'NO RAINCOAT!' and I'm almost 50.

Dr. Horwitz is an active member of the Jewish community in Raleigh, North Carolina. He's been on TV annually for I don't know how many years lighting a giant community menorah and bringing awareness of pro-semitism! He has been a faculty member of the UNC School of Dentistry for decades and was awarded the Order of the Long-leaf Pine for his years of dedication and service to the community. (Plus, his brother used to own this amazing deli with the best Reuben on Earth!) But what many probably don't know about Dr. Horwitz is the amount of pro bono dentistry work he has provided for area children and kids around the world. 

For some reason, all dentists are off on Friday. It's a mystery that probably will never be solved, up there with the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and if Bigfoot is real. Dr. Horwitz didn't spend his Fridays off playing golf. Instead, he would spend his Sabbath eve mornings running free clinics for poor and uninsured children in the Wake County area. He's also traveled to London, Ukraine and Africa to run free clinics for children in desperate need of dental health and education. 

So in honor of Dr. Horwitz, I am selecting the Smiles for Life Foundation. Since 1998, they have raised nearly $60 million dollars. With those funds, the have provided dental health care and accessories, like toothbrushes and toothpaste to patients both young and old. One of their main focuses is on those with developmental disabilities, as they suffer disproportionately from poor dental health than those of all economic groups. 

March begins a global springtime initiative every year for Smiles for Life. With the deadline looming, there's a trio of options for you to consider:

1. Find a participating area dentist office and donate to their clinic efforts.

2. If you are a dentist or work at  for a dentist orthodontist, join the Smiles for Life Network and host a clinic for those in need.

3. Become a corporate sponsor. Come on, you CEOs and business owners, we know you've got some tax exempt funds lying around somewhere!!!

For more information about these options, click here and then scroll downward.

Rugrats: C is for Chanukah (Family Comic Friday)

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Now that we’re done with the turkey and football, parades and such, it’s time for Family Comic Friday to focus on the holidays This week we begin reviewing  holiday specials for 2018. But before we get ready for a visit from Santa, we must get ready for the festival of lights. To help us, we’ve got some little tykes with big imaginations. It’s Kaboom’s Rugrats: C is for Chanukah.

Rugrats: C is For ChanukahWritten by Daniel Kibblesmith, Cullen Crawford
Illustrated by Kate Sherron
Published by Kaboom! Studios.

(Note: There are dozens of ways to spell Chanukah. I will be using ‘Hanukkah’ as my family spells it during our traditional festivities, unless referring to the title of the book.)

I was absolutely thrilled when I first heard about this comic. To my knowledge, there’s never been a Hanukkah special. There’s been Hanukkah stories in the pages of DC, Marvel and even Archie holiday specials. But as far as I can tell C is for Chanukah is the first of its kind. (At least from a major publisher.)  I’m sure that this has made Mr. Adam Sandler’s day and eight crazy nights!

Rugrats is the perfect vehicle to introduce people to Hanukkah. In 1995, the Snick cartoon made history introducing millions to the Jewish holiday of Passover with 1995’s A Rugrats Passover. Now Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica and the twins Phil and Lil introduce the miracle of Hanukkah to families in this hilarious special.

The kids and their families embark in a week-long winter vacation. Watching the Reptar Chanukah Special, Tommy and friends get a very weird education into the holiday’s origins. Thus during this vacay, Tommy’s grandparents, the Kropotkin’s decide it’s the right time to start teaching the kids about Hanukkah.

Unfortunately, Mr. Kropotkin isn’t exactly the best storyteller and he tells the babies of a golem monster that eats bad little children when the lights go off. Thus, Tommy and friends decide to go on the offensive. With flashlights in hand, can the Rugrats survive 8 whole nights with a Hanukkah monster on the loose? Where’s Reptar when you need him?!

One of the best things about the Rugrats cartoon was how the babies got things wrong and try to solve their dilemmas with their overactive imaginations. Writers Daniel Kibblesmith (Valiant High) and Cullen Crawford do a fantastic job capturing that sense of wonder in this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nickelodeon decided to adapt this book into a 30-minute animated special. I would watch it!

The book was laugh-out-loud funny! The dialogue was perfect. Thankfully, Chuckie’s very annoying father, Chaz, has a part of this story that was kept to a minimum. I’m also glad that the Christmas Vs. Hanukkah rivalry between Tommy’s grandfathers wasn’t as big a deal as the trade solicitations advertised it as being. I think that would have minimized the importance of Hanukkah.

I loved the art in this book as well. Artist Kate Sherron (Amazing World of Gumball) does a fabulous job making everybody look like their 1990s counterparts. But I also appreciate how the artist renders the Reptar TV special and the children’s daydreams in different art styles to keep the excitement fresh and engrossing.

I really wanted to personally own a copy of this book. Holiday comics are one of my favorite things to collect and read. C is for Chanukah would have been a perfect addition to my collection. However, that just isn’t meant to be just yet. I went to several comic book stores the day after the book dropped and each store was sold out!

This is one of the few times where I will tell you that if you can’t find it in print, go digital! The book retails for $7.99. However, it’s bigger than a regular 24-page comic and it’s just so funny and informative at the same time! If you come from a mixed Jewish/Christian family like I do or you have friends who are curious about the Jewish people and their cultures, I highly recommend this book! Make it your Hanukkah present to them!

Now if someone would only make a Kwanzaa holiday special, my collection would be complete… almost. Who am I kidding? I’m never gonna stop hunting for a new holiday special!

Rugrats: C is for Chanukah debuted in print and digital platforms on Wednesday, November 14th.

Hanukkah, 2018 begins the evening of December 2nd.