Staff Writer
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What
do Adam Sandler, Jack Black, and Paul Rudd all have in common during the
holiday season? Like millions of others of the Jewish faith, they celebrate
Hanukkah, the eight day “festival of lights.”
The
holiday celebrates an ancient miracle. In the 100s B.C., the Jewish rebel group
known as the Maccabees defeated their oppressive Greek overlords. However, in
the process the Jewish temple was destroyed and the oil needed to light the
temple’s menorah, which ceremoniously burned all night every night, was in
short supply. One flask of oil was discovered and though it was only enough to
last for one night, it miraculously burned for eight, the time required to
produce more oil.
The
celebrations begin at sundown, as the Jewish calendar goes by night rather than
day, the first of which is the lighting of the menorah. The menorah holds eight
candles, one of which is lit every night, and a ninth candle in the middle
which is used to light the other candles.
| Dreidels: rivaled only by Monopoly in destroying relationships over fake money. |
Also during Hanukkah, children receive presents, one for each night. Another
tradition enjoyed by children is playing the game of dreidel. Dreidel is a
gambling game that involves spinning a dreidel, a top with four sides that,
depending on which side it lands on, dictates the outcome of the game and the
winner of the pot, usually made up of gelt, chocolate "coins" wrapped in gold foil. The playing of the game comes from
ancient times when Jewish scholars would feign playing the game when Greek
soldiers interrupted the study of the Torah, which was made illegal by the
Greeks.
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| Golden brown latkes fresh from the fryer |
Traditional
food is also a staple of the experience of the holiday. One of these is the
latke, a “potato pancake” made of shredded potatoes with grated onions fried with
a batter of eggs, flour, and salt. Another fried delicacy of the holiday is the
jelly doughnut, simply dough filled with fruit jelly, then fried.
Because
the Jewish calendar follows a different cycle than the modern Gregorian
calendar which we use today, Hanukkah falls on a different day every year. This
year, Hanukkah starts at sunset on November 27. This year is the first time
Hanukkah and Thanksgiving have coincided since 1899 (although in that time
Thanksgiving fell on the last Thursday in November rather than the fourth
Thursday as it is now). The next time this will happen will be the year 2070.
