Among Friends

[Shanus]

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@Pearlee wrote:

@Shanus  Don't forget the chocolate in the gold colored foil, the"gelt",  as a Hanukkah food.  😄  i can't believe it's this early -- in November!

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@Pearlee   The gold, chocolate coins were difficult to find here in the last few years, candles, too. This year we found large boxes of the gold coins at Homegoods, Hallmark and some of the grocery stores. The grandchildren received large boxed gifts of them...my DS ate his share. 

It's nice to hear from you. 

[Shanus]

@feline groovy   Loved the pics. Yes, Molly has a "scarf" with Stars of David and dreidels. She's gotten pretty good about wearing her different holiday attire. 

[Shelbelle]

Trader Joe latkes, next best thing to homemade, enjoy!!!

[just bee]

[kivah]

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@Shanus wrote:

Wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah. Our menorah is out. It is the candle holder w/ spaces for 8 candles and the "head" candle that lights the others each night.  

The traditional foods are potato pancakes (called latkes) and jelly donuts. What could be bad? 

It's mostly a kids' holiday and our personal tradition is just gifting the children and grandchildren. The children play a game w/ a spinning top called a dreidel. There are songs, dancing and getting together w/ family...some stayed on after Thanksgiving this year. 

This is the earliest I remember Hanukkah falling. It's usually in December and therefore sometimes confused with a Hebrew equivalent of Christmas. The date is not  determined by the normal calendar, but rather the Hebrew calendar. 

Hanukkah is not a religious holiday as much as it is a marking in history to commemorate the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C. It's also called the Festival of Lights because after the temple was cleaned and repaired, an oil lamp was lit to celebrate the victory. There was only enough oil to last one day, but miraculously it burned for 8 days. hence the 8 days of Hanukkah. To also celebrate the oil lasting, the fried foods like the jelly donuts, fried potato pancakes, etc. are symbolic.

So, to my non-Jewish friends, this is probably more than you ever needed to know about Hanukkah. 🤣

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I'm a member of Chabad of Oxnard --- and Rabbi Dov is the person lighting those tall menorahs around town - each night he's in a different area. One night, he was with the Mayor and the Police Chief. Rabbi Dov is also the Chaplain for the Police Dept. and  Navy Base.

[Solar Is My Name]

@Shanus thanks for starting this Hanukkah thread! Me: better late than never! Hope everyone's celebration was happy! We celebrated with "the kids" on Sunday, the last night of Hanukkah; and it warmed my heart in every way.

Love and health -- those are my greetings to all who read this. 

Happiness, always. Don't let the light go out!

-Solar