chanukah

I HAVE A LITTLE DRIEDEL

I have a little dreidel,
I made it out of clay.
And when it's dry and ready,
Oh dreidel I shall play.

O dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
I made it out of clay;
And when it's dry and ready,
Then dreidel I shall play

It has a lovely body,
With legs so short and thin.
And when it gets all tired,
It drops and then I win.

Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
I made it out of clay;
And when it's dry and ready,
Then dreidel I shall play

You can sing this song to the melody playing in the background.

Instructions for making your own dreidel can be found at http://www.holidays.net/chanukah/dreidel.html

Chanukah (sometimes spelled Hanukkah) is a Hebrew term for "rededication." Because the dates of Chanukah are based on the Jewish calendar, which is different than the calendar used by most people, Chanukah does not come at the same time every year. It starts on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. Translated to the calender we use in the United States, that means Chanukah can start either in November or December.

Chanukah lasts for 8 days and is a rememberence of a time over 2300 years ago in Judea. King Antiochus believed in Greek Gods and refused to follow the Jewish people in their worship. He ordered the Jewish people to give up their God. They refused. He destroyed their temples and homes.

One of the men that defied King Antiochus was Judah Maccabee and his 4 brothers. Along with a small army of men, they decided to fight the enemy so they could be free to worship as they pleased. They all worked very hard to clean all of the Greek writing and pictures Greek Gods that had been written on the walls of the temple. When they had completed cleaning the temple, they wanted to have a rededication ceremony, but there was only enough blessed oil to light the temple lamp for one evening. Then a miracle happened. The lamp flickered and burned for eight nights.

Today the Menorah, a special candle holder used during Chanukah, holds 9 candles. Eight candles for the eight nights the temple lamp burned, and the 8 nights of Chanukah and one candle to serve as the Servant....to be used to light the other candles.

Chanukah is a very special holiday celebrating a very special event in Jewish History.

GELT is a Yiddish term for "money." This is one of the traditional Chanukah gifts. Have you seen the chocolate candy wrapped in gold foil to resemble money? This is representation of Gelt. The tradition of giving money and gifts at Chanukah is called Gelt-giving

LATKES
(Potato Pancakes)

Oil plays an important role in the celebration of Chanukah. Because of the miracle of sacred oil in the Temple so many years ago, much of the food prepared for Chanukah is cooked in oil. Latkes, potato pancakes, are just one of the many foods prepared by frying in oil.

12 large potatoes, grated
3 medium onions, grated
4 eggs, beaten lightly
5 Tbs flour
3 Tsp salt
1 Tsp pepper
Oil for deep frying

Remove as much liquid as possible from the grated potatoes and onions by squeezing between clean towels.

Combine all ingredients and mix together with large fork or spoon.

Put 3/4 inch of oil in a heavy skillet. Heat until sizzling. Form pancakes by hand and carefully place them into the pan using a spatula. Fill the pan, but leave room between the pancakes for cooking and turning.

When browned on one side, turn carefully and cook, until browned on the other side. They will be crisp on the edges.

Remove with a spatula and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve while warm with sour cream, applesauce or sprinkle with granulated sugar.

For more information and stories about Chanukah, go to:
http://www.night.net

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