[Sca-cooks] RE: Hanukah

[morgancain at earthlink.net]

Lucrezia asked:

>>> So fried dumplings are seasonal fare? How long does
>>> Hanukah last? And is there a particular day it is
>>> especially celebrated? And specific food that
>>> goes with it?

Hanukah is an eight-day festival that this year starts on Sunday night. [1]  It celebrates the great miracle of the oil, in which (VERY short summary) a phial of oil, barely enough to keep the Temple lamp lit for a day, burned for eight days and nights while the congregants had time to make more oil.

This followed a great military victory, in which the vastly outnumbered Maccabees overthrew the Syrian/Greek oppressors (originally led by Alexander the Great, but at the time of our story run by Syrians).  A very good history is at http://www.everythingjewish.com/Hanukah/origins.htm   After the Maccabees kicked the Syrians/Greeks out in 167 BCE (when their Greek leader decided that Jews would be forced to adopt Greek ways, including religion) and reclaimed their Temple, they had to clean it and sanctify it, and rededicate it - Hanukah actually means "dedication" to commemorate this.

Because of the oil, one of the traditional things to do for Hannukah is to eat fried foods.  Latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) are the most widely eaten, but many other foods, such as fried dumplings, are also eaten.

                              ---= Morgan


[1]  All Jewish days are counted from sundown to sundown.  So the holiday usually starts on the evening before your calendar says.  If it says that the first day is the 10th, you start observing at sundown on the 9th.

Also, the Jewish calendar is a lunar one, so it doesn't start on a set day every year on the Gregorian calendar.

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