Happy Chanukah
Posted on: 11 December 2009
- In: CHANUKAH | israel | judaism
- 21 Comments
21 Responses to "Happy Chanukah"
2 | Bryde
11 December 2009 at 21:21
Happy Chanukah! My nephew got a Chanukah gift from his Great-Gran yesterday.I wish my sister was more involved with her roots for his sake.
I also wished Michael Rosenbaum a happy Chanukah via Twitter not 30 minutes ago.I love that photo Ann.That’s me on any given holiday too-at the table-with food.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday.Please let us know how it turns out.
bryde – thanks for the wishes – in truth chanukah is actually a minor festival and we don’t take time out of work or anything like that – it’s just so much more well known to the secular world than the rest of our festivals because it falls around the same time as Christmas – still i like any opportunity and excuse to spend time with my brood
5 | Val
12 December 2009 at 21:29
That doughnut is nearly as big as the little sweetie hoping to scoff it!
val – he’s two years older so i think he’ll make a better job of it now 🙂
6 | BobbyG
13 December 2009 at 00:41
Wishing you all the blessings of the holidays. Love the picture of the little one and the do-nut.
7 | Axe
13 December 2009 at 12:09
Happy Chanukah, sweetness!
You are like a mother to me and bring me so much light and joy, Ann.
Hhhmm…..doughnuts…… 😉
axe – no doughnuts for you 😉
and… don’t ya go all maudlin’ on me sweetie
::dabbing eye with tissue::
8 | tobeme
14 December 2009 at 20:57
Happy Chanukah! May this festival of lights be a joyous one for you and your family. You are the light of the world as we all our. May we allow are light to shine and not hide it beneath a basket, for it is in our light that we know our love!
11 | Anonymous
28 December 2009 at 03:16
I made latkes the other week (recipe from Salcia Landmann); what can I say … addictive stuff 🙂
Hope you enjoy your holidays, Ann!
12 | jazzy
28 December 2009 at 03:20
The comment above is from me – jazzy.
P.S. The snow effect looks great
at home with ann 
11 December 2009 at 18:29
A very Happy Chanukah to you and your family! Question: how did donuts become a part of the Chanukah tradition? And also, is that where donuts originated? Aren’t they called Sufganyot?
Finally, did you put the snowflake effect into this comment box?
14 December 2009 at 11:06
jojo – i’ve just copied and pasted the following for you from a jewish website – as for the snowflake effect – wordpress have this available for a couple of weeks but it’s not that effective on my blog as it is on the darker ones
History
Beginning in 167 BCE, the Jews of Judea rose up in revolt against the oppression of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire. The military leader of the first phase of the revolt was Judah the Maccabee, the eldest son of the priest Mattityahu (Mattathias). In the autumn of 164, Judah and his followers were able to capture the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been turned into a pagan shrine. They cleansed it and rededicated it to Israel’s God. This event was observed in an eight-day celebration, which was patterned on Sukkot, the autumn festival of huts. Much later rabbinic tradition ascribes the length of the festival to a miraculous small amount of oil that burned for eight days.
At Home
Much of the activity of Hanukkah takes place at home. Central to the holiday is the lighting of the hanukkiah, an eight-branched candelabrum to which one candle is added on each day of the holiday until it is ablaze with light on the eighth day. (The Hanukkiah is also referred to–erroneously–as a Hanukkah menorah, but a true menorah has a total of only seven branches). In commemoration of the legendary cruse of oil, it is traditional to eat foods fried in oil. The most familiar Hanukkah foods are the European (Ashkenazi) potato pancakes, or latkes, and the Israeli favorite, jelly donuts, or sufganiyot. The tradition developed in Europe to give small amounts of money as well as nuts and raisins to children at this time. Under the influence of Christmas, which takes place around the same time of year, Hanukkah has evolved into the central gift-giving holiday in the Jewish calendar in the Western world.
14 December 2009 at 18:21
Thank you for the history lesson! I can get on board with any holiday that encourages the eating of donuts!