Tonight, at sundown, Hanukkah (Chanukah) begins. So, for Tuesday’s Topic today, I say…
Happy Hanukkah to All!
Some fun facts and tid bits of holiday festiveness…
History:
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days” – from Holidays.net
Dreidle:
The letter on dreidls outside of Israel stand for “A great miracle happened there” but in Israel the last letter is different, to stand for “A great miracle happened here.”
Also in Israel the word for dreidl is “sevivion” (hebrew instead of yiddish) – from Rotemgear.com
Latkes:
Potato pancakes, also known as kartoffelpuffer or latkes or latkas (Yiddish: ???????), are shallow-fried cakes of grated potato and egg, often flavoured with grated onion. Potato pancakes may be topped with a variety of condiments, from savoury (sour cream, various cheeses) to sweet (applesauce, sugar with or without cinnamon), but traditionalists prefer them ungarnished. – from Wikipedia
The Star of David:
The Magen David (shield of David, or as it is more commonly known, the Star of David) is the symbol most commonly associated with Judaism today, but it is actually a relatively new Jewish symbol. It is supposed to represent the shape of King David’s shield (or perhaps the emblem on it), but there is really no support for that claim in any early rabbinic literature. In fact, the symbol is so rare in early Jewish literature and artwork that art dealers suspect forgery if they find the symbol in early works. – from The Jewish Virtual Library
Have a wonderful Chanukah!
[tags]hanukkah,penguin,jgoode,holiday,tuesdays topic[/tags]
