We all love Christmas time. The home cooked food (not microwavable dorm room food), the mittens and boots kind of weather, the Christmas songs on the radio, and most importantly the time spent with family… oh wait, and the presents. The presents are always the best part.
But what many people do not realize is that it isn’t just about one day of the year, for some people it’s about eight! Hanukkah is just like Christmas but celebrated with tons of presents, candles, dreidels, and potato latkes! I am sure, even if you aren’t Jewish, you have heard the song “dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when its dry and ready, oh dreidel I shall play!” That is a very popular song amongst the little kids who are Jewish, or even not Jewish. Many people do not understand the meaning behind Hanukkah, and do not worry, I won’t give you a lesson, but it’s a very bright and colorful holiday. We start off with the Menorah, usually one that you decorated in Hebrew School or one that was handed down from generation to generation. Then, as the nights go on, you light a candle…not rocket science, right? Freshman year was my first Hanukah in 19 years that I was not with my family to celebrate, so I made my mom buy me an electronic menorah (yeah, something you plug in because we can’t have candles in our rooms).
Hanukkah is one of the best times of the year because you get eight presents, one for each night; who doesn’t want that? When I was younger, I would get the smallest present the first night, and then the last night was the biggest. My parents tried to surprise me with the big presents, but I always shook the boxes to see what was inside.
But Hanukkah just isn’t complete without homemade food made by grandmas, aunts, moms, or anyone who can work a good Jewish Kitchen! My favorite holiday food is Potato Latkas. If you want to bring the Hanukkah spirit into your dorm room kitchen, here is a recipe to follow… it’s from my Grandma Becky’s cookbook, so of course it’s AMAZING. Don’t be scared, just put your Jewish cooking to the test.
You will need:
6 medium sized potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1 tsp. salt
*Oil for frying
Directions: Pare and grate potatoes, squeeze out the liquid. Peel and grate the onions into potatoes. Add the eggs, flour, salt and stir to make a smooth batter. Drop batter from a spoon into hot oil, making potatoes 3 inches in diameter. Fry over moderate heat until brown on the underside, turn to brown. Lift out and drain off excess fat on paper towel. Serves 4-6.
!חג חנוכה שמח
(Happy Hanukkah)