Let the festival of lights begin!

by

Tonight, at sundown, Hanukkah (Chanukah) begins. So, for Tuesday’s Topic today, I say…

Happy Hanukkah to All!

happy-hanukkah.gif

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

Dreidle Penguin

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]

9 thoughts on “Let the festival of lights begin!”

  7. Wow … as usual, you have outdone yourself with great and interesting info … I only read one website aobut but it was interesting too and brought forward a question I have to remember to ask Rotem Gear – do they light candles every day and then put them out to relight them the next day during the Festival of Lights? I cannot imagine them burning all day and night every day for … is it 8 days? I don’t think anyone makes candles that will burn that long … though I could be very wrong.

    I love the penguins! You do awesome work beyond penguins but I bet most people know the penguins more than any other design of yours … they are everywhere being adorable … and brightening people’s day with smiles!

    I also found out tonite that I am supposed to be European … though I’m not … me American Midwesterner born & bred … ancestors were Europeans though … you can read the rest of the story at
    http://barbaraburns.com/barbarablog/?p=275

  8. Wow … as usual, you have outdone yourself with great and interesting info … I only read one website aobut but it was interesting too and brought forward a question I have to remember to ask Rotem Gear – do they light candles every day and then put them out to relight them the next day during the Festival of Lights? I cannot imagine them burning all day and night every day for … is it 8 days? I don’t think anyone makes candles that will burn that long … though I could be very wrong.

    I love the penguins! You do awesome work beyond penguins but I bet most people know the penguins more than any other design of yours … they are everywhere being adorable … and brightening people’s day with smiles!

    I also found out tonite that I am supposed to be European … though I’m not … me American Midwesterner born & bred … ancestors were Europeans though … you can read the rest of the story at
    http://barbaraburns.com/barbarablog/?p=275

  9. Wow … as usual, you have outdone yourself with great and interesting info … I only read one website aobut but it was interesting too and brought forward a question I have to remember to ask Rotem Gear – do they light candles every day and then put them out to relight them the next day during the Festival of Lights? I cannot imagine them burning all day and night every day for … is it 8 days? I don’t think anyone makes candles that will burn that long … though I could be very wrong.

    I love the penguins! You do awesome work beyond penguins but I bet most people know the penguins more than any other design of yours … they are everywhere being adorable … and brightening people’s day with smiles!

    I also found out tonite that I am supposed to be European … though I’m not … me American Midwesterner born & bred … ancestors were Europeans though … you can read the rest of the story at
    http://barbaraburns.com/barbarablog/?p=275

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