Hanukkah Traditions - recipes, games, jigsaw puzzle

Tastes of Hanukkah

Like all Jewish holidays, Hanukkah is associated with special foods. Many are cooked in oil to remind us of the Maccabees and their victory. Others are dairy foods which remind us of the story of Judith who saved Jerusalem from an Assyrian siege.

Judith fed the enemy general Holofernes cheese to make him thirsty. He then drank so much wine that he fell asleep, whereupon Judith cut off his head. It is told that her example of courage inspired the Maccabees and their followers to resist tyranny and the defilement of the Temple in their time.

By far the most popular "Hanukkah food" is latkas (potato pancakes). Here is a simple recipe for this delicious food.

Potato Latkes

Ingredients:

1 pound - Potatoes, peeled and grated
1 small - Onion, grated
2-1/2 Tbs. - Flour
1 - Egg
1/2 tsp. - Salt
1/8 tsp. - White pepper
1/4 cup - Olive oil

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine first 6 ingredients, blend well. Heat oil in frying pan. For each latka, scoop a heaping tablespoon of batter into oil. Turn while frying until they are brown on both sides, and potatoes are cooked. Remove latkas from pan and drain well. Repeat with remaining latkes until all the batter is used.

Makes about a dozen.

Serve latkas hot with applesauce or sour cream.

Applesauce

Ingredients:

9 Apples, chopped
3 Tbs. Lemon juice
3 Tbs. Brown sugar or 1 1/2 Tbs. Honey
2 Tbs. Water
1/2 Tsp. Ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the apples, lemon juice, sugar or honey, water, and cinnamon.

Cover and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the apples are very tender.

Transfer to a large bowl, coarsely mash, cover, and chill.

Games of Hanukkah

In the graphic on the left, there is a purple top (with its own top off) and some gold coins. What do they have to do with Hanukkah?

The gold coins are Hanukkah gelt (money). Sometimes adults give money to children on Hanukkah. This must have been very exciting in past centuries when economies were based on barter and many people rarely saw coins. However, today, many people give special milk chocolate candy wrapped in gold foil and embossed with symbols and markings of old coins. It's fun to finger the embossing, listen to the crinkly sound of the foil as one unwraps and reveals the rich, brown candy, then inhales the wonderful aroma of chocolate. Best of all is tasting it!

The four-sided top is the dreidel used in playing a special Hanukkah game. Each of the four sides has a different Hebrew letter: Nun, Gimel, Hey and Shin. They stand for the phrase "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham" - "A Great Miracle Happened There."

The dreidel dates back to the time of the Hanukkah story. Studying Torah was punishable by death so Jewish children would hide in caves in the hills to study with their teachers. If the Greek soldiers came, they would start spinning their dreidels and pretend that they were just playing an innocent game.

Other popular Hanukkah games are chess, dominoes, board games about Hanukkah, and card games. Story-telling and riddles are also popular.

Hanukkah Jigsaw

Here's a jigsaw puzzle with a Hanukkah theme. Have fun celebrating this holiday about religious freedom.

Dwnn
Dwnn
Taliesin

We Wicked Twins (Dwnn & Taliesin) hope that you've enjoyed this exploration of Hanukkah traditions and invite you to sign our guestbook. We have some other web pages that you are invited to visit, too.

You'll find some funny, traditional Jewish folk tales/jokes on our page about Chelm, a town where everyone's a bit crazy.

Our main site Tao of Meow, Chinese horoscopes and philosophy.

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Credits:
Hanukkah MIDIs from
The Israeli-Jewish-Yiddish-Hebrew-Folk-Cultural Music Midi Free Library.
Backgrounds from Bitsy's Boutique.
Other graphics from The Mousepad.