As those of you who flip ahead in your calendars will have noticed, Hanukkah comes early this year. And when I say early, I mean you'll still be eating leftover cold turkey sandwiches from Thanksgiving alongside your latkes. But that's fine; Hanukkah is never really a problem. Rosh Hashanah requires resolutions, Yom Kippur requires atonement, but Hanukkah just needs a few candles. Let's be honest -- Hanukkah is not a major holiday, and most of us have the whole Hanukkah thing down by this point in our lives.

Christmas, on the other hand, is a royal pain in the tuchus.

Many connections can be made between vegetarianism and the Jewish festival of Hanukkah:

1. According to the Book of Maccabees, some Maccabees lived on plant foods since they were unable to get kosher meat when they hid in the mountains to avoid capture.

2. The foods associated with Hanukkah, latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried donuts) are vegetarian foods, and the oils that are used in their preparation are a reminder of the oil used in the lighting of the Menorah in the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean victory.