Last night we went to some friends house for a Hanukkah party. It was a lot of fun and very neat to learn more of the tradition and story behind the celebration.
The first thing I learned is that there is really no such thing as a “traditional” menorah. Who knew? They can look like this with bright colored candles:
Or like this:
Or this sweet pink car:
Or this:
I also didn’t realize that a family might have (and light) more than one. They do! Actually, each family member has their own.
The story behind the lighting of the menorah is really fascinating! Way back (over 2000 years ago) in a Jewish temple there was a lantern that was supposed to burn all the time. However, once they only had a very small amount of oil left and it would take 8 days to make more oil. They chose to keep the lantern lit until it burned out while they made more oil. The funny thing is, the lantern did not burn out during the entire 8 days.
So, there are 8 days of Hanukkah with a candle representing each day (plus a center candle – I forgot what that one is called – but it is used to light the others). On the first day, you put in the first candle and light it. You leave it burning until it burns down. On the 2nd day, you put in 2 candles and do the same. On the 8th day (yesterday), you fill the menorah and light all 8.
Hanukkah can be any time between late November and very early January – it depends on the Jewish (I think) calendar.
Another thing I learned is about the food that is generally eaten at Hanukkah – lots of fried stuff. The reason is to represent the oil that did not run out.
Latkes (a potato pancake) are common
as are jelly donuts.
There are also chocolates – especially gold coins. Last night our host also had several types of quiche, salad and bread – all good stuff!
After the meal, all of the kids played a rousing game of dreidel.
I’m not sure how that was played (I was talking, not watching) but I know that there was lots of laughing and more candy was involved!!!
I’m sure that some of my details are a little off – this is just based on what I took in and my memory (which is poor to begin with plus the fact that I drank wine during the party) so probably not 100% accurate.
Our entire family really enjoyed getting to experience this celebration with friends!
