Happy (first night of) Hanukkah!

Happy Christmas, Festivus, and everything else everyone!!

GVEG, V Spot Holiday Market, and holyohmygosh it's December!

Well everyone, we can't believe it either, but it's DECEMBER! That means that Hanukkah begins tonight, and Christmas is just around the corner. It also means that as of this morning, the November Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway is officially closed! Thanks so much for all of your wonderful entries! We will be selecting a winner at random and making the announcement this Saturday, so good luck to you all!!

It ALSO means that the Holiday Market at V Spot featuring wares from Vegan Etsy Team sellers opens in just TWO DAYS!! We are so excited about this project; it's really going to be something special. So if you're in the NYC area you really must stop by! Check out the event on Facebook, or if you're not all facebook-ey here's the flier on the V Spot website. Hope to see you there!

Hanukkah, here we come!

Hanukkah falls quite early this year, beginning at sundown on December 1st. Hanukkah is the celebration of light, or more specifically the triumph of light over darkness. As (a terribly simplified version of) the history goes: after reclaiming Jerusalem and the holy temple from the Greeks, a single day's portion of oil miraculously burned for the Maccabees for eight days during the temple's rededication. This is why a menorah is kept burning for eight days during the modern celebration.

Although the holiday generally falls close to Christmas, and traditions have now come to include gift-giving, it is clearly a very different celebration. Unique from most Christian celebrations, many important days in the Jewish calendar acknowledge the triumphs and tribulations endured by the Jewish people throughout their history.

Well, I'm all for lighting candles, but what I enjoy even more are potato latkes and dark chocolate gelt! Like the celebrations in cultures found throughout the world, part of the Hanukkah celebration involves eating special (and delicious) foods. Especially those that are fried! This is another way to commemorate the oil that lasted eight days. Does anyone have favorite vegan Hanukkah recipes or treats they'd like to share with us? (Also, who can tell us how to play spin the dreidel??) The comments section awaits you!

Turn Black Friday into Green Friday with the Vegan Etsy Team!

Here in the states, this Friday after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday. Why? Maybe because businesses expect to get enough sales to put them "in the black". Or maybe because for those who work in retail, it's the most nightmarish day of the year! Any way about it, it's expected to be a day of shopping frenzy! Christmas is coming! Buy those presents!!! (And since you're out, why not slip in a few goodies for yourself?) But, where is all that money going?

Here at the VET, we think it's important to think not just about what you "support" when you're talking amongst your friends and associates, but what you literally support when you pull out those bills or lay down that card. If you'll be shopping you today, we encourage you to give as much of that support as possible to small businesses run by real people - and especially vegan ones! And to also think of all the animals who need our help - not only at this time of year, but all year round.

As you probably already know, one of the best ways to find small vegan businesses is to shop with the Vegan Etsy Team! Our team is made up of individual sellers - real live people! - all of whom are vegan, running all-vegan shops. The majority of us give a portion of our profits to animal causes, and sometimes that portion is 100%! So you can feel good about shopping with us on many levels. Not to mention that our shops represent an incredible variety of wares!

To find us, just go to Etsy.com and search our team tag, "veganetsy team". If you'd like to narrow it down, just add another parameter:

• veganetsy team cookies
• veganetsy team chocolate
• veganetsy team jewelry
• veganetsy team red
• veganetsy team scarf
• veganetsy team bath

And so on, and on, and on...Whatever it is you're searching for, we've probably got it!

And so, happy Green Friday, and happy shopping!