The Eight Days of Hanukkah
Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. This year Hanukkah starts at sundown on December 8th and lasts until December 16th.
The story of Hanukkah is quite beautiful and is one of miracles and of overcoming Greek influence over the Jews in the Land of Israel. Antiochus, the Greek ruler, forbade any Jewish religious practices, so a small group of Jews called the Maccabees revolted against this power. This group prevailed and immediately restored the Holy Temple which had been desecrated. According to tradition, the menorah in the Temple needed to be re-lit but they only found one vial of olive oils which is enough for one day of light. The miracle was that the oil lasted for eight days. (Source: Wikipedia).
Today, Jews light their nine-branched menorah on the first night of Hanukkah and it is tradition to light one candle for each night until the eighth night when all the lights shine together. The ninth candle, called the shamash (“helper”) is used to light the others. (Source: history.com).
In our household we have the added bonus of celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas which makes for a month long of get-togethers, yummy meals and presents! My daughter loves this and her friends think it is pretty cool she gets to celebrate both holidays. Each year, my husband’s family hosts the Hanukkah celebration and it is so interesting to learn about the history of the Jewish people and the true meaning of Hanukkah and what each part of the meal represents.
Traditional Hanukkah foods are fried in oil. Potato pancakes (known as latkes) and a new tradition here in the states that originated in Israel is the jam-filled donut called Sufganiyot (pronounced as soof-gahn-ee-yoot). With Hanukkah starting tonight at sundown it holds a special place as one of this holiday’s many delicacies. According to Epicurious.com, Austrian Jews who immigrated to the Middle East in the mid-20th century most likely brought the recipe from Viennese confections called Krapfen. (Source: www.dcist.com). We are excited to try out this jam-filled donut this weekend!
I have found that the beauty in Hanukkah is the respect shown for what their people have had to overcome throughout history and of perseverance. If you are celebrating Hanukkah here is to a memorable and fun evening!
What are some traditional foods your family makes for the holidays?
Photo courtesy of Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tmacy/3144800565/sizes/z/in/photostream/
References:
Wikepedia.com
www.dcist.com https://dcist.com/2012/12/the_weekly_feed_jelly_donut_edition.php
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Melissa
Melissa Northway, M.S. is a mom, founder of dandelion moms, and a children’s book author. Her award-winning book Penelope the Purple Pirate was inspired by her little tomboy. Penelope is a modern-day Pippi Longstocking who teaches girls and boys the importance of having fun while at the same time teaching them to be kind and respectful of others and their differences. Dandelion moms was created for moms to share their stories and to inspire and be inspired! You can reach Melissa at: info@dandelionmoms.com and follow her @melissanorthway and @dandelionmoms. Check out her author web site at: www.melissanorthway.com, as she hands out loads of goodies from the treasure chest.
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