Happy Hanukkah

Grandchildren of Nancy and Robert Levinthal celebrate Hanukkah last year surrounded by Maccabee statues. At top, from left: Chandler Levinthal, Parker Levinthal. At bottom, from left: Morton Gassett, Pierce Levinthal, Kendall Levinthal (holding Jonah Gassett), Rainey Levinthal.

While leading a tour as a docent at the Holocaust Museum in Houston, I found myself standing in front of a display case of items representing the Jewish faith. One was a Menorah used to celebrate Hanukkah (The Festival of Lights), and I confidently began to explain this special Jewish holiday to the group.

Once the tour was over, one of the participants pulled me aside to let me know that I had mixed in some information about a different Jewish holiday, Passover – a more serious ceremony commemorating the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt – and proceeded to advise that I visit our local library to find some books on Jewish holidays. Thanking the gentleman, I assured him that I would check some books out. Admittedly, I lacked the courage to tell him that I was Jewish, or how embarrassed I was to have created a new Jewish Holiday – Passokkah.

I began thinking about this story and our different Jewish holidays and traditions again recently. My cousins celebrate Hanukkah with their large family by placing hundreds of Maccabee statues on the spiral staircase in their home. (The Maccabees were the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea.) The family’s Maccabee collection grows each year. The colorful statues are now all familiar characters – even the grandchildren who are not being raised in the Jewish faith see them as “wise men” or “drummer boys” usually associated with Christmas. The annual holiday card is a photo of my cousins’ grandchildren on the spiral staircase flanked by these Maccabee statues. When I receive this annual holiday greeting, I am filled with warmth and the spirit of Hanukkah.

While many are familiar with the Hanukkah Menorah, lighting the candles for eight nights, and those delicious potato latkes, one Hanukkah tradition that is not as familiar is the tradition of sufganiyot. The first time I was introduced to this treat was three years ago while celebrating Hanukkah with friends in Dallas. Pronounced SOOF-gone-ee-OAT, these are jelly doughnuts eaten in Israel and around the world during Hanukkah. The doughnut is deep-fried, filled with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. The custom of eating fried foods commemorates the miracle of Hanukkah, when oil that should have lighted the Temple for one night lasted eight days and nights.

“Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel – I made it out of clay.” This is the first line to a favorite Hanukkah song. The real fun is in playing the dreidel game. A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, with Hebrew letters (each having a numeric value) on all four sides. Players spin the top, with the winner determined by which side the dreidel lands upon. The prize is gelt (Hebrew for money), actually gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins.

Gifts play a large part in any Hanukkah celebration, especially for the children who customarily receive one gift after lighting each night’s candles. As our parents would hide presents in a closet, my older brother and I would peek inside daily to count the new gifts added. The larger boxes had us waiting on pins and needles. Mine were sure to be either Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars-related, and my brother’s would have something to do with soldiers or spacecraft. After all, we were living in Houston in the 1960s, when man had landed on the moon.

Regardless of what your family traditions might include, food, family, gifts, songs and the dreidel certainly bring Hanukkah to life. Through Hanukkah’s celebration, we are reminded of the history of this eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Greek government of the 2nd century BCE (or BC, as Christians say). According to the Talmud, the Temple was purified, and the wicks of the menorah miraculously burned for eight days.

For 2014, Hanukkah begins at sundown on Dec 16. Based on the Hebrew calendar, the date of Hanukkah varies each year. Yet, there is one constant during the Festival of Lights – Hanukkah brings families and friends together in celebration of a rich tradition. From dreidels to latkes, Hanukkah is known as an especially fun Jewish holiday.

I look forward to hearing some of your favorite Hanukkah traditions. Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate.

Editor’s note: To share your Hanukkah traditions with Buzz readers, email [email protected] or comment below.