JacketFlap connects you to the work of more than 200,000 authors, illustrators, publishers and other creators of books for Children and Young Adults. The site is updated daily with information about every book, author, illustrator, and publisher in the children's / young adult book industry. Members include published authors and illustrators, librarians, agents, editors, publicists, booksellers, publishers and fans. Join now (it's free).
Login or Register for free to create your own customized page of blog posts from your favorite blogs. You can also add blogs by clicking the "Add to MyJacketFlap" links next to the blog name in each post.
Blog Posts by Tag
In the past 7 days
Blog Posts by Date
Click days in this calendar to see posts by day or month
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Chanukah, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 34
How to use this Page
You are viewing the most recent posts tagged with the words: Chanukah in the JacketFlap blog reader. What is a tag? Think of a tag as a keyword or category label. Tags can both help you find posts on JacketFlap.com as well as provide an easy way for you to "remember" and classify posts for later recall. Try adding a tag yourself by clicking "Add a tag" below a post's header. Scroll down through the list of Recent Posts in the left column and click on a post title that sounds interesting. You can view all posts from a specific blog by clicking the Blog name in the right column, or you can click a 'More Posts from this Blog' link in any individual post.
With the most widely-celebrated winter holidays quickly approaching, test your knowledge of the cultural history and traditions that started these festivities. For example, what does Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer have to do with Father Christmas? What are the key principles honored by lighting Kwanzaa candles?
Prizes and samples provided by Penguin Random House Children’s Books The Children’s Book Review | November 16, 2015 Come together with friends celebrating different holidays! Enter to win 2 copies of Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein (Penguin Random House Children’s Books, 2015), one to keep, and one to share. One (1) winner receives: Two copies of Dear Santa, Love, Rachel […]
With the holiday season upon us, many of us are busy in our kitchens cooking secret family recipes and the season’s favorite delicacies. Looking at the delicious options in The Oxford Companion to Food, we compiled a list of various holiday specialties and treats from around the world that you may want to incorporate in your next holiday feast.
Speculaas, otherwise known as Christmas biscuits were traditionally baked for St Nicholas’s Eve on 5 December. They are made of wheat flour, butter, sugar, and a mixture of spices in which cinnamon is predominant. The dough is baked in decorative molds. The biscuits are crisp and flattish and may have cut almonds pressed into the underside.
Sufganiyah are a type of doughnut made in Israel for Hanukkah celebrations. Using a yeast-leavened dough they are enriched with milk, eggs, and sugar. After being deep-fried they are filled with jam, often apricot, and rolled in caster sugar.
Oatcakes are made from oats (in the form of oatmeal), salt, water, and sometimes have a little fat added into them. Oatcakes are made for the Scottish celebration, Hogmanay, traditionally the most important holiday of the year in Scotland, celebrating New Year’s Eve.
Spiced beef, a type of preserved beef, is an important part of traditional Christmas fare in Ireland. The beef is soaked in brine, brown sugar, juniper berries, and spices which can include black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, nutmeg, and pimento for any time between three weeks and three months.
Vasilopitta is a traditional Greek New Year bread, also known as St Basil’s bread. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are celebrated more elaborately than Christmas in Greece. The Greek equivalent to Father Christmas is Aghios Vasilis—St Basil—and he arrives on New Year’s Eve when the children receive presents. The vasilopitta occupies a prominent position on the table for the arrival of the New Year.
Vanillekipferl (vanilla crescent), made from a rich pastry type of dough containing almonds and flavored with vanilla or lemon peel is popular in Germany and Central Europe, especially as a Christmas specialty.
Bakewell Pudding, a rich custard of egg yolks, butter, sugar, and flavouring—ratafia (almond) is suggested—poured over a layer of mixed jams an inch thick and baked wasis famous not only in Derbyshire, but in several of northern counties of England, where it is usually served on all holiday occasions. In this form, it bears some resemblance to various cheesecake recipes.
Choerek (or choereg, choereq, churekg etc.—the name has seemingly innumerable transcriptions) means ‘holiday bread’. This is an enriched bread (using sour cream, butter, egg), oven baked, made in a variety of shapes and sizes and flavours in the Caucasus. The most common shape is ‘knotted’ or braided bread, but it also is made in snail shapes in Georgia. Flavourings include aniseed, mahlab (a spice derived from black cherry kernels), vanilla, cinnamon, and grated lemon or orange rind
The Chinese practice of eating noodles on special occasions as a symbol of longevity is also found in Japan. A typical example is the custom of eating soba on New Year’s Eve. Soba are thin, buckwheat noodles, light brown in colour. Though it is possible to make soba purely of buckwheat flour (kisoba, or ‘pure soba’), it is common to add some wheat flour to the buckwheat in order to make the dough less crumbly.
Featured image credit: Dinner Table for Christmas by Cam-Fu (camknows). CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 via Flickr.
The story that most Jewish children learn about the holiday of Chanukah is that it commemorates the Jews’ victory over foreign invaders and their sullying cultural influences. Around 200 B.C.E., Judea was the rope in a tug of war between two stronger powers: the Ptolemic dynasty of Egypt and the Seleucid Empire of Syria. The Seleucids, led by the kings Antiochus III & IV, won when Antiochus invaded Judea in 175 B.C.E. But in 170 B.C.E. the Jews who favored Egypt took control from the camp that favored Syria. According to the Roman historian Flavius Josephus, Antiochus IV invaded Judea a second time, and not only slaughtered many Jews but also defiled the Temple in Jerusalem, offering swine as sacrifice to pagan gods on its altar.
Cue the heroes: the Maccabees (whose name means “Hammer”), the original Mattisyahu, and his seven sons, including Judah. Together they defeated the forces of King Antiochus and cleansed the Temple in Jerusalem of all of its Seleucid-introduced impurities. A small amount of oil that was enough to last for a single day lasted for eight instead, and with this somewhat pedestrian miracle the festival of Chanukah was born.
It was a miracle whose veracity has been questioned since the Middle Ages, and contemporary scholars have complicated the story quite a bit. The real struggle, they tell us, was not so much between Jews and foreign invaders, but a civil war between the Jews who followed Greek ways and those Maccabean Jews who opposed them.
In other words, the story of Chanukah at its heart is a story of a struggle of a small people torn between stronger nations with powerful cultures. We focus on the symbolic act of purification and cleansing, but we tend to obfuscate the larger cultural terrain. Ancient Jews were fighting not just against foreigners but amongst themselves over whose culture to adapt and to what degree. Cultural adaptations came from within, not just from without.
There may have been a military victory over Syria’s army and the Hellenizing Jews, but the Jews of ancient Palestine were already deeply and inextricably linked to the nations and the cultures of their region. That is, they were not just multicultural (of many discrete cultures) or transcultural (crossing cultural borders); they were polycultural. Their cultural diversity already was internalized and they patched their cultures together based on overlapping similarities, not just warring differences.
Barbardian-born Rabbi Arnold Josiah Ford, musician, leader of the UNIA choir, rabbi of Beth B’Nai Abraham, and Ethiopian pioneer, from the cover of the UNIA hymnal. Public domain via The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.
So too with today’s Black Israelites, people who believe that the ancient Israelites were Black and that contemporary Black people are their descendants. People of many different faiths have been Black Israelites. In the 1890s there was a wave of Black Israelite churches that came out of the Holiness movement. At the turn of the twentieth century, Anglo-Israelite beliefs helped inspire the Pentecostal movement, the most numerous new religious movement of the twentieth century. During the Harlem Renaissance, Black Israelite beliefs became popular among some who practiced forms of rabbinic Judaism, and the following decade the belief took root in Black Islam and in Jamaican Rastafarianism. During the organizing and militancy of the long 1960s the ideology found supporters among patriarchal and macho advocates of Hebrew Israelite faiths. A tiny fragment of the Hebrew Israelites will yell at passersby on New York street corners to this day, and yell at each other in attempts to purify their practice from any of the contamination of rabbinic Judaism.
But what goes unnoticed is that each of these religions continue to this day. Moreover, each of them change, just as the individuals within them change in their religious practice, growing more or less observant, or moving from one group to the other. It helps to think of these religious waves not as groups or sects but as movements — constantly in the process of becoming. Religious changes also happen inter-generationally, not just within the life of individuals. Many of the children of Black Jews have become more, not less religious. Gradually, over time, Black Jews have become more, not less halachic. The followers of the biggest portion of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, one of the original Holiness groups, now believe that their founding prophet only used the word “Christ” as a necessary expedient, and practice their own unique form of Judaism. Their music has been passed down “mouth to ear” for over a century, and is some of the most beautiful choral music not just among American Jews, but in American music, period.
Black Israelites teach us that cultures are really polycultural. They are formed not by heated battles between warring binaries, but by acts of collage that emphasize overlapping similarities between dozens of inputs, many of which are already internalized within. This is a more helpful view than picturing cultural formation as the resolution of antagonism between holistic and hostile camps coming from without.
Returning to the story of Chanukah, we can understand history better by focusing not on the moment of conquest and purification but on all the cultures that Jews of Josephus’ day shared with their neighbors, just as we can understand American culture today and in the past by understanding how continuous cultural flows have created polycultures and defied efforts to categorize, rank, or purify. I like it that way.
In case you’re looking for some new books to spice up your “Books that Celebrate Hanukkah” collection, here are two titles that we think you’ll love reading (and cooking with) as you celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Chow your way through Chanukah with this kid-friendly cookbook that provides recipes for eight kinds of latkes (and much more), crafts and games for eight themed parties, and tidbits of factual information about the holiday itself. Illustrated dreidels highlight the degree of difficulty for each recipe: One dreidel means no cooking or baking is required. Two dreidels means the recipe may require chopping or slicing. Three dreidels means a hot stove is used to boil or fry. Safety tips are party etiquette are offered up, too. Here comes Chanukkah! Use this cookbook and you’ll have so much funukah! And … don’t forget your yamaka!
This bestselling writer and illustrator duo hit the spot (AGAIN!) with their zippy rhymes and entertaining illustrations. Gigantic dinosaurs with their juvenile and mischievous antics take the edge off any holiday tension and manage to encourage good behavior. A lesson in manners and a laugh, what more could you ask for? This book is a guaranteed must-read all eight nights of Chanukah.
Looking for more Hanukkah books? Try our lists from previous years:
The Association of Jewish Libraries has created “Hanukkah Read Up!,” a list of Hanukkah books for children recommended by the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee. The colorful 2-page flyer is available on the AJL website at http://tinyurl.com/AJLhanukkah. All the titles on the list have been recognized by the award committee as gold or silver medalists or as “Notable Books.” A special section is devoted to the Hanukkah works of prolific author Eric A. Kimmel, a past Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award winner. The list should prove interesting and useful for families seeking Hanukkah titles for their children, to read together or buy as gifts, as well as for librarians who wish to purchase titles for their holiday shelves. AJL members and friends are welcome to distribute the list, digitally or printed out, to their own library patrons. Happy Hanukkah and Happy Reading! Heidi Estrin AJL President Host, The Book of Life
0 Comments on Hanukkah Read Up! as of 11/30/2012 7:07:00 PM
Yesterday I read an incredible blog post by Edgar M. Bronfman in The Washington Post‘s “On Faith” section. I believe Bronfman’s article, “Create a holy Hanukkah,” was penned with the sole purpose to encourage North American Jews to think more deeply about the gifts we choose to give our children on Chanukah. Rather than summarize [...]
Last year, I did separate roundups of holiday books for kids for both Hanukkah and Christmas because these holidays were so far apart. This year they overlap, so I have done them in one roundup. Be sure to take a look at last year's books as well as this years.
Hanukkah:
The Christmas Menorahs; How a Town Fought Hate
Janice Cohn, DSW, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth
Albert Whitman
1995
40 Pages
From the author’s website:
“It’s Hanukkah, and menorahs glow in the windows of the Schnitzer home in Billings, Montana. Then suddenly, a rock crashes through the window of Isaac Schnitzer’s bedroom. ‘But, why?’ Isaac wants to know. ‘Because we are Jews,’ his father tells him.
Christmas lights shine in the Hanley home, where Isaac’s friend Teresa and her family decide to do something brave so that the Schnitzers can celebrate their holiday without fear.”
This is based on a true story, telling how two children, two families and a whole community come together to stand against hatred and bigotry. This isn’t really a WW II story, but refers to the story about King Christian of Denmark wearing a Yellow Star after the Nazi occupation of his country. I think this is an excellent, sensitive story for young readers about standing up for your beliefs. The oils illustrations by Bill Farnsworth, on of my favorites, are wonderful.
One Candle
Eve Bunting, illustrated by K. Wendy Popp
Joanna Cotler Books
2002
32 Pages
From the publisher:
“For one family the traditional Hanukkah celebration has a deeper meaning. Amidst the food and the festivities, Grandma and Great-Aunt Rose begin their story- the one they tell each year. They pass on to each generation a tale of perseverance during the darkest hours of the Holocaust, and the strength it took to continue to honor Hanukkah in the only way they could.” One Candle is a wonderful story about the power of faith and ingenuity under the worst of circumstances, but just keep a box of Kleenex nearby. The pastel illustrations help enhance this story.
2 Comments on Some Holiday Books, last added: 12/9/2011
November has been dubbed Picture Book month. You can find out more, read about the importance of the picture book at this blog. Or you can take a look at the Picture Book Proclamation here.
I'll be using my Book Review Wednesday space this month to celebrate the picture book! If you missed last week, Sleds and Balloons, take a look.
This week, let's dive into the Holiday season with one Christmas and one Chanukah book. In order to be well-sold, a picture book should face out on a bookstore shelf. Space is short these days though, and holiday themed books have an even harder time competing because they have a very short shelf life in the bookstore.
Toni Buzzeo, a Maine youth services librarian, school presentation expert, and author, has had a long line of successful picture books. These include: Sea Chest, the Dawdle Duckling series, and a number of books that are set in libraries. I got a sneak peek at her January 2012 release One Cool Friend, when I went to a workshop presented by the amazing David Small (her illustrator for the story), but more about that later. Today, I want to tell you about her current release, Lighthouse Christmas.
From Toni’s website: Frances is determined to make Christmas jolly for her younger brother, even if it means joining family on the mainland and leaving Papa behind on their isolated lighthouse island. After all, would Santa even know how to find them in this faraway spot? But when Christmas Eve is ushered in on a wild storm and Papa risks his life to rescue a drowning man, the children realize that the most important thing about the holiday is being together.
As in all great Christmas stories, a happy ending is in store, and Santa finds them after all. Cozy and nostalgic, this story was inspired by the Flying Santa program, a New England tradition since 1929. It’s the perfect book for a family to read together in front of the fire on Christmas morning.
School Library Journal gives it a starred review: “There’s a charmingly nostalgic feel both to the story and to the illustrations, which convey a sense of time and place and are very appealing. An author’s note gives a brief history of the Flying Santa Service, which was created in 1929 and continues to this day delivering treats to Coast Guard families. A lovely tradition and a lovely book.” –Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
Educators should take note that in addition to the back-matter regarding the Flying Santa Service, Toni also has a curriculum guide and a reader’s theater script for seven parts on her website. Take a look!
Erica Silverman gave us Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa, as well as Liberty’s Voice: the story of Emma Lazarus. Her recent release, Hanukkah Hop, illustrated by Steven D’Amico, is bopping, rhyming book that invites readers to a Hanukkah party.
The illustration are bold, bright and graphic and remind me of jazz posters from the 1950’s. This style fits the story to a tee. The book takes the reader from party preparation, to when the guests arrive, to games, and to a quick review of the Hanukkah miracle. Ther
As a practicing Jew, I’m a little perplexed about the popularity of Chanukah. Chanukah is a minor holiday doesn’t have the same religious significance as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. Yet, Chanukah gets more attention than the other ones since it falls around Christmastime each year. I’ve been searching for holiday-related books [...]
The holiday season has officially begun. And along with it is my first Holiday Readathon running from December 2nd to 5th and all I needed to do was make a pledge for charity. My pledge is 5¢ per page read to the Salvation Army and a can of food for each book read to a local food bank. You too can sign up at Holiday Readathon
I am beginning the Readathon with books for Chanukah because last night was the first night of Chanukah and the world’s largest Menorah was lit at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan (59th Street and Fifth Avenue.) Chanukah is a joyous festival of lights, hope and miracles. And last night we did have a bit of a miracle when the horrible rain and strong winds stopped just in time for the lighting. If you would like to know more about this holiday, including how to make and play with a Dreidel and why children receive Chanukah Gelt, be sure to visit Chanukah on the Net
The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Isaac Bashevis Singer, illustrated by Irene Lieblich. There is one story for each night of Chanukah in this book. The sixth story, called “The Power of Light,” is about two young teens, David, 14 and Rebecca, 13, hiding from the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto after it was bombed and burned. They had been hiding for a long time because Rebecca was afraid to leave even though remaining there was also dangerous. But their story is one of courage and strength discovered in the glow of a miraculously found candle on the first night of Chanukah. They decide to bank on the miracle and travel through the sewers of Warsaw seeking partisans who could help them escape to Israel. Singer is a master storyteller and the stories in this book are – well – masterful.
Menorah in the Night Sky: a Miracle of Chanukah by Jacques J.M. Shore, illustrated by S. Kim Glassman. This is a story about two young boys, Zev, age 12 and David, age 11. The boys are best friends, separated from their families in Auschwitz and working in a factory separating shoes. Homesick and sad, David did not want to remember the Chanukah celebrations he had had with his family before the war. Zev wanted to help David with a miracle of hope, but all he could do was tell David to look up in the winter sky, light their found, but forbidden candle and pretend they were lighting a Menorah. That night a bright star appeared as if it were the first candle on the Menorah. But could such a thing happen again and again for 8 nights? Well, it is the season of light and miracles.
This evening is the first night of Hanukkah/Hanukah/Chanukah — and what better way is there to celebrate than with a holiday story? Here is “The Cave of Mattathias,” a tale that originated in Eastern Europe and was passed down in the oral tradition. It is one of many stories included in Howard Schwartz’s Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales. Happy Hanukah!
In a village near the city of Riminov there was a Hasid whose custom it was to bring newly made oil to Reb Menachem Mendel of Riminov, and the rabbi would light the first candle of Hanukah in his presence.
One year the winter was hard, the land covered with snow, and everyone was locked in his home. But when the eve of Hanukah arrived, the Hasid was still planning to deliver the oil. His family pleaded with him not to go, but he was determined, and in the end he set out across the deep snow.
That morning he entered the forest that separated his village from Riminov, and the moment he did, it began to snow. The snow fell so fast that it covered every landmark, and when at last it stopped, the Hasid found that he was lost. The whole world was covered with snow.
Now the Hasid began to regret not listening to his family. Surely the rabbi would have forgiven his absence. Meanwhile, it had become so cold that he began to fear he might freeze. He realized that if he were to die there in the forest, he might not even be taken to a Jewish grave. That is when he remembered the oil he was carrying. In order to save his life, he would have to use it. There was no other choice.
As quickly as his numb fingers could move, he tore some of the lining out of his coat and fashioned it into a wick, and he put that wick into the snow. Then he poured oil on it and prayed with great intensity. Finally, he lit the first candle of Hanukah, and the flame seemed to light up the whole forest. And all the wolves moving through the forest saw that light and ran back to their hiding places.
After this the exhausted Hasid lay down on the snow and fell asleep. He dreamed he was walking in a warm land, and before him he saw a great mountain, and next to that mountain stood a palm tree. At the foot of the mountain was the opening of a cave. In the dream, the Hasid entered the cave and found a candle burning there. He picked up that candle, and it lit the way for him until he came to a large cavern, where an old man with a very long beard was seated. There was a sword on his thigh, and his hands were busy making wicks. All of that cavern was piled high with bales of wicks. The old man looked up when the Hasid entered and said: “Blessed be you in the Name of God.”
The Hasid returned the old man’s blessing and asked him who he was. He answered: “I am Mattathias, father of the Maccabees. During my lifetime I lit a big torch. I hoped that all of Israel would join me, but only a few obeyed my call. Now heaven has sent me to watch for the little candles in the houses of Israel to come together to form a very big flame. And that flame will announce the Redemption and the End of Days.
“Meanwhile, I prepare the wicks for the day when everyone will contribute his candle to this great flame. And now, there is something that you must do for me. When you reach the Rabbi of Riminov, tell him that the wicks are ready, and he should do whatever he can to light the flame that we have awaited so long.”
Amazed at all he had heard, the Hasid promised to give the message to the rabbi. As he turned to leave the cave, he awoke and found himself standing in front of the rabbi’s house. Just then the rabbi himself opened the door, and his face was glowing. He said: “The power of lighting the Hanukah candles is very great. Whoever dedicates his soul to this deed brings the time
0 Comments on The Cave of Mattathias as of 1/1/1900
NOTE TO MYSELF: SMALL ACTS CAN LEAVE BIG IMPRESSIONS
As a youngster, Christmas was somewhat of a demoralizing time of the year. Since our family was of the Jewish faith, we celebrated the holiday of Chanukah, which didn't seem to me to be half as exciting as the furor that went along with trimming a tree.
On occasion Chanukah fell during the same period as Christmas and somehow I couldn't work up as much enthusiasm for lighting a candle even if it was colored, as my friends seemed to experience placing ornaments on the branches of their trees.
It was difficult for me to accept that a tree even a miniature one was out of the question, in spite of reminders that people of the Jewish faith don’t celebrate Christmas. Even the protestations that we could call it a Chanukah bush, it was obvious that there was no way a fir tree would be part of our celebrations.
Traditionally at Chanukah, children receive gifts of gelt or money and light small colored candles in a hanukiah (candelabra) one per night for the eight days of the holiday. While this was nice, in my mind it didn't measure up to all the excitement related to the "other" holiday.
At Hebrew school we always celebrated the various holidays, big and small and Chanukah was a particular favorite especially since our class, being the eldest students, entertained the residents of a senior’s home. Each year the teacher would select eight students to sing and perform to play the role of Chanukah candles with fierce competition for the part of the shamash or lead candle.
Not being blessed with a good singing voice and barely able to carry a tune, I knew that my chances were slim at best to play any candle, never mind the lead candle. My biggest rival was Zelig, who had the voice and promise of a future opera singer. Not only did he have the best singing voice, he was also the top student scholastically. He was also the teacher's pet. Whenever games were played for prizes during the holidays, Zelig won everything, which didn't exactly ingratiate him with the other students. Actually, we were all jealous and would have liked nothing better than for his voice to change in the middle of a concert.
Class auditions for candle parts were held a few weeks before the onset of the holiday and at best, the most I could hope for was a minor part and even then, only if the rest of the students had an off day or laryngitis. Each student auditioned for the teacher and as expected, Zelig got the lead role, which irritated me no end.
My resentment was eased somewhat by being assigned the role of a minor candle, probably out of pity more than anything else. Those students not chosen became part of the chorus singing "tra-la-las" at the appropriate time.
Excitement was at a fever pitch when we arrived at the seniors' home, ready to perform for a live audience who were, for the most part, in wheelchairs. They were brought into the auditorium where we were lined up on stage, anxious to perform.
Glancing around the room, many of the seniors appeared half asleep.
"You will be entertained today!" their nurses might have insisted as they wheeled them into the room before our arrival.
The first students opened the concert and sang well and those who followed performed admirably. Finally, it was my turn. My voice didn't fail me and I felt very proud of my accomplishment.
When Zelig opened his mouth it was like a chorus of angels had entered the room. His voice was strong and melodic and suddenly the seniors perked up, smiles on their faces in obvious appreciation of what they heard. When the last notes of his solo faded away, they all clapped appreciatively.
The musical recital was over and we performed a variety of Israeli dances, moving off the stage to mingle among our audience. Although Israeli dancing was a passion, I was consumed with the memory of th
0 Comments on A shining light for Chanukah as of 11/30/2010 8:22:00 AM
I wrote this play a while back as a First Person piece for our local daily. It was one of other pieces focusing on my experience as a student attending after school Hebrew lessons. This was a very pleasant time and experience although it didn't seem like it at the time. In any case, I'm toying with re-writing it as a play perhaps combining it with some of the other pieces. As usual, comments always welcome.
A Shining Light BY ELEANOR TYLBOR
As a youngster, Christmas was somewhat of a demoralizing time of the year. Since our family was of the Jewish faith, we celebrated the holiday of Chanukah, which didn't seem to me to be half as exciting as the furor that went along with trimming a tree.
On occasion Chanukah fell during the same period as Christmas and somehow I couldn't work up as much enthusiasm for lighting a candle even if it was colored, as my friends seemed to experience placing ornaments on the branches of their trees.
Even though my parents explained time and time again that Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas, which meant that a tree even a miniature one was out of the question, it was difficult for me to accept. In spite of protestations that we could call it a Chanukah bush, it was obvious that there was no way a fir tree would be part of our celebrations.
Traditionally at Chanukah, children receive gifts of gelt or money and light small colored candles in a menorah (candelabra), one per night for the eight days of the holiday. While that was nice, in my mind it didn't measure up to all the excitement connected to the "other" holiday.
At Hebrew school we always celebrated the various holidays, big and small, and Chanukah was a particular favorite especially since our class, being the eldest students, entertained the residents of a seniors home. Each year the teacher would select eight students to sing and perform as Chanukah candles and competition was fierce for the part of lead candle.
Since I wasn't blessed with a good singing voice – I could barely carry a tune – I knew that my chances were slim at best to play any candle, never mind the lead candle. My biggest rival was Zelig, who had the voice and promise of a future opera singer. Not only did he have the best singing voice, he was also the top student scholastically. Plus he was also the teacher's pet. Whenever games were played for prizes during the holidays, Zelig won everything, which didn't exactly ingratiate him with the other students. Actually, we were all jealous and would have liked nothing better than for his voice to change in the middle of a concert.
Class auditions for candle parts were held a few weeks before the onset of the holiday and the best I could hope for was a minor part and even then, only if the rest of the students had an off day or laryngitis. Each student auditioned for the teacher and as expected, Zelig got the lead role, which irritated me no end.
My resentment was eased somewhat by being assigned the role of a minor candle, probably out of pity more than anything else. Those students not chosen became part of the chorus singing "tra-la-las" at the appropriate time.
Excitement was at a fever pitch when we arrived at the seniors' home, ready to perform for a live audience who were, for the most part, in wheelchairs. They were brought into the auditorium where we were lined up on stage, anxious to perform.
Glancing around the room, many of the seniors appeared half asleep.
"You will be entertained today!" their nurses might have insisted as they wheeled them into the room.
The first students opened the concert and sang well and those who followed performed admirably. Finally, it was my turn. My voice didn't fail me and I felt very proud of my accomplishment.
I give my college students a religion quiz every semester, and, for a country theoretically operating on Judeo-Christian principles, I’m hard-pressed to find folks who are clear on the Christian stuff, let alone the Judeo. Despite our nearly 80% self-reported Christianity, we don’t really know a whole lot about our own religious history, so how can we possibly be open to and embracing of other worship forms? Growing up in a religious tradition that strongly discourages outside theological exploration, I was always the oddball interested in what everyone else was doing in the worship department. That may come partially from being raised with Southern roots and not being an evangelical. It may come from a natural curiosity. It could definitely be part of my contrary nature. But, at the heart of it, I think my intrigue with other religious traditions started in earnest the moment I opened my first All of a Kind Family book. Sydney Taylor’s series centers on a turn-of-the-century Jewish family, full of children, in working-class Brooklyn. They are devout, close-knit, and have little but each other. I love them and find myself reading about their adventures even as an adult. It is from them and those in their circle that I learned about the forgiveness of Yom Kippur, the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the bounty of Succos, and the sanctity of Passover. In Rabbi Francis Barry Silberg’s The Story of Chanukah, a simple board book tells a powerful story of a great people. Yevarchecha hashem. Amen.
Well I am taking holidays off blogging and won't be posting here again until the new year. So for your amusement over the holidays feel free to play around with The Limricktionary - a must for word nerds everywhere.
Just pick the word you want defined and you shall be returned with a definition in limerick form.
The word Christmas is over-defined, So
I hope, my dear friends, you won't mind If I state, without fear, That its
true meaning's clear: Peace on Earth and goodwill to mankind!
The boys at St. Luke's made a fuss As Abraham
boarded the bus. "He gets Chanukah fun For eight nights from night
one. What a shame there's no presents for us!"
Chanukah’s almost here! As you get ready to celebrate the miracle of this holiday, take a short trivia quiz. How much do you know about this festival of lights?
Chanukkah Trivia Game
1. What other name is traditionally known by?
Answer: the festival of lights
2. What is the miracle of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah?
Answer: The oil in the temple burned for eight days
3. The story of Chanukah is a time for Jews to celebrate what?
Answer: Religious freedom - the story of Chanukkah tells of the Jews who were persecuted for many years by the Greco-Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus forced them to worship Greek gods instead of practicing their own Judaism.
4. What was the name of the small band of Jewish patriots who victoriously won over the mighty armies of the Syrian King?
Answer: The Maccabees
5. What did the Maccabees find when they restored the Holy Temple in Jerusalem?
Answer: one jar of pure oil, enough to keep the menorah burning for just one day
6. Name at least one thing you do on each night of the holiday?
Answer: You light one more candle, exchange gifts, play dreidel, and eat fried latkes and donuts to remember the victory for religious freedom and the miracle of the oil. You also play dreidel, a spinning top with four Hebrew letters - nun, gimmel, hey, shin
7. What do the four hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for?
Answer: “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham - A Great Miracle Happened There.”
8. What is the Hebrew word for dreidel?
Answer: “sevivon.”
So now that you know a little bit more about the holiday of Chanukah, it’s time to make a few fun holiday crafts.
Craft #1: Chanukah Craft Notepad Holders
Materials – Here’s what you’ll need:
heavy cardboard
cheap notepads (this can be bought in bulk at a dollar store)
markers, scissors, paint
You can use this craft to make a fun “to do” list or homework pad.
Instructions – What You Need to Do
1. Use heavy cardboard to make the back of the notepad holder. You can either paint your decorations or cut them out.
2. Cut out driedel shapes or draw Judah the Maccabee or a picture of a menorah.
3. Paste a notepad and you’re ready to write yourhearts out!
Craft #2: Chanukah Craft Gelt Bag
Learn more about the tradition of Chanukah by making a Chanukah gelt gift bag.
Materials – What You’ll Need
plastic strawberry containers (these hold the best)
blue construction paper
stapler
glue
gold wrappers from chocolate Chanukah coins
glitter (preferably silver - optional)
Instructions – How to Make Your Chanukah Gelt Bag
1. Staple blue construction paper to the basket and glue gold coins. You can also glue glitter. Careful – this can get messy!
2. Cut strips for handles and staple to basket.
3. You can also choose to write your name in Hebrew.
Now you’re ready to collect your Chanukah gelt! You may also want to give some money to a charity or a person who may be in need.
SHOW NOTES:The final installment of interviews with publishers and authors from the show floor at Book Expo America 2009. This episode highlights Jewish books for kids and teens.
...and just because they got mentioned so often by so many people, The PJ Library
AUDIO:
Click the play button on our traditional flash player to listen to the podcast now:
Or click MP3 File to start your computer's media player.
EMBED:
If you'd like to place this audio on your own web site, please use this stand-alone player from Entertonement. Click the embed button and copy the code!
EXCITING NEWS:
I am pleased to announce that content from The Book of Life has been included in the new Jewish Book Search tool created by the Jewish Publication Society!
Here's their description of the tool: "JPS has put together a list of the highest quality websites with Jewish Book content. This search engine queries those sites and those alone. This will allow you to be sure that your search will only be related to Jewish Books. No more sifting through tons of content for what you are looking for. Search for any and all Jewish Books, articles about Jewish Books, blogs about Jewish Books, and anything about the Jewish Book world. Search by title, author, keyword, or area of interest!"
Go ahead and try it out! If you'd like to embed the tool on your own site, visit JPS.
It's still Chanukah. Just when you thought you were done giving presents, we've got three crazy nights to go. If my daughters are reading this, the best stuff has already come out so would you like to stop now while you're ahead?
Never one to be the Debbie Downer in the room, here's a totally silly Chanukah/Christmas song from the genius minds of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I cannot believe I missed the entire Colbert holiday show a few weeks ago. (Time Warner! Hands off the YouTube clips, please!) I just saw this segment from the show and I knew I had to post it here. According to my Live Journal, I am one gimmel short of a miserable dreidel and there's no way I can leave that impression hanging in the air. So go ahead now and laugh. That's good for you, too. In fact, studies show it's even better than crying. (And you haven't lived until you've laughed at a funeral. Yes. Me. Guilty. It was ccccchorrrrrible!)
Laurel - would you consider printing this up and selling? I love it so much and would love to share with some of my cousins - who would also appreciate it. if not...I'm sending them all over to see it!
Thanks eveyone! This image is actually another one of my "rejected" card designs. Maybe that company ought to see these comments ;)
Mim, yes I do sell this as notecards on my Etsy Shop but also any of my images can be ordered as prints. I left info on your blog, but most of the info is on my Etsy. Thanks for asking!
Lolo - I just bought the two chanukah cards on Etsy but am not sure if Paypal took my payent Can you check and let me know? If they didn't take it can you send me a paypal invoice?
By: Jerry Beck,
on 12/30/2015
By: Samantha Zimbler,
on 12/9/2015
By: Kathy Temean,
on 12/15/2014
By: Heidi Estrin,
on 11/29/2012
By: Stacey,
on 12/22/2011
By: Anna Boll,
on 11/9/2011
The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah by Isaac Bashevis Singer, illustrated by Irene Lieblich. 
Menorah in the Night Sky: a Miracle of Chanukah by Jacques J.M. Shore, illustrated by S. Kim Glassman. 
By: scriberess,
on 11/3/2010
.jpg?picon=139)
By: Scott Laming,
on 12/18/2009
.jpg?picon=694)
By: Adrian,
on 11/30/2009
.jpg?picon=512)
By: Pamela Ross,
on 12/26/2008
By: Laurel Gaylord,
on 12/21/2008
Maccabee Meals: food and Fun for Hanukkah
How Do dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?
0 Comments on Some Holiday Books - Chanukah as of 1/1/1900
I give my college students a religion quiz every semester, and, for a country theoretically operating on Judeo-Christian principles, I’m hard-pressed to find folks who are clear on the Christian stuff, let alone the Judeo. Despite our nearly 80% self-reported Christianity, we don’t really know a whole lot about our own religious history, so how can we possibly be open to and embracing of other worship forms? Growing up in a religious tradition that strongly discourages outside theological exploration, I was always the oddball interested in what everyone else was doing in the worship department. That may come partially from being raised with Southern roots and not being an evangelical. It may come from a natural curiosity. It could definitely be part of my contrary nature. But, at the heart of it, I think my intrigue with other religious traditions started in earnest the moment I opened my first All of a Kind Family book. Sydney Taylor’s series centers on a turn-of-the-century Jewish family, full of children, in working-class Brooklyn. They are devout, close-knit, and have little but each other. I love them
and find myself reading about their adventures even as an adult. It is from them and those in their circle that I learned about the forgiveness of Yom Kippur, the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the bounty of Succos, and the sanctity of Passover. In Rabbi Francis Barry Silberg’s The Story of Chanukah, a simple board book tells a powerful story of a great people. Yevarchecha hashem. Amen.
Many thanks Kathy for a part in your celebretory collection today!
Beautiful poems and artwork!