Friday, December 30, 2011

HAPPY CHANUKAH + MERRY CHRISTMAS + HAPPY NEW YEAR !




















As usual, I am behind and catching up. This year I got to light the beautiful menorah Bernice gave me.  I had a friend over and we ate latkes with organic applesauce and Jane ate hers with sour cream. My friend Howard came over on the last night and we each lit our own "chanukiot." (There is a tradition in Judaism for each person to light their own menorah). There was a candle-lighting every night in my building which I went to after I met the woman who was leading it, Elaine, and found out she had handouts and everyone sang Chanukah songs that we all knew since we were kids. On the last night I brought down latkes from the Butcherie, the kosher market in Brookline, plain and sweet potato + they were a big hit !

Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
I made it out of clay,
and when it's good + ready,
with dreidel I will play.........

It was wonderful to see Julian and Amber's menorah too along with the Christmas celebrations, and even Kwanza ! Check out Julian's blog and Amber's blog for all the details.

SHORT HISTORY OF THE DREIDEL

A dreidel has four hebrew letters:
nun, shin, hay, gimel;
the letters mean: "a great miracle happened there";
referring to the one flask of oil that lasted eight days after the Maccabbees defeated the Syrian-Greeks who had ruined the alter at the Temple of Solomon; the six branched menorah was kept lit 24/7 by the Levites who were in charge of Temple maintenance.  You can read all about it in The Book of Maccabbees 1 +2.



1 comment:

Amber said...

Wow, we're all over your blog :) I love your Menorah, it's so pretty - Happy Chanukah!