Home » Food & Drink » Culinary History » A Time of Miracles--Hanukkah

A Time of Miracles--Hanukkah

© Carey Draeger

It all began in 165 B.C.E. The Syrian Greeks occupied the temple in Jerusalem and prevented the Jews from performing their rituals and observing their religious beliefs. Against impossible odds, a small group of Jews, led by Judah, rose up against their oppressors and threw the Greeks out of the temple. After they cleared the temple of Greek icons and idols, the Jews discovered they had only enough oil to light the lamp in the temple for one day. But lo and behold, God worked a miracle and the oil lasted for 8 days, long enough for the Jews to find a more plentiful source.

Today, Hanukkah is an 8-day festival celebrated by Jews around the world with menorahs (an eight-branched candelabra), spinning dreidels (tops), geld (gold-wrapped chocolates shaped like coins) and delicious fried foods. This year Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 3 and continues through December 11.

Jews from different cultures eat different fried foods to commemorate the miracle of the oil. Many American Jews, from Russian and Eastern European descent, eat latkes, shredded potato pancakes, with sour cream and/or applesauce. The Sephardic Jews--from Spain, Portugal, Italy, North Africa, Iraq, Syria, Greece and Turkey--enjoy jelly-filled doughnuts, or sufganiyot.

Cheese blintzes, crepes filled with ricotta or pot cheese, are another food enjoyed during Hanukkah. This tradition springs out of another legend, the story of Judith, a Jewish widow who saved the Jewish town of Bethulia during the revolt against the Syrian-Greeks. She entered the enemy camp and prepared a feast for the general that was full of salty cheeses. The general developed a powerful thirst from the cheese and drank so much wine that he passed out. Judith then cut off his head with his own sword and the general's troops retreated.

The most important ritual of Hanukkah is the kindling of the menorah lights each night--one candle the first night, two the second, and so forth, always lighting from right to left. Many families retell the story of Hanukkah, reminding their children to be proud of their Jewish heritage and to treasure religious freedom.

During the 8-day celebration, children receive presents and bags of chocolate coins called gelt. They also play a gambling-type game with the dreidel, a 4-sided top with the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, heh and shin. The letters stand for the words which mean "A great miracle happened here." The dreidel game is said to have develoepd as a way to get around a decree the Syrian-Greeks passed against learning the Torah, the Jewish holy book. Jews who met together to study would bring the tops, so passing patrols would be lulled into thinking they were playing a harmless game.

The copyright of the article A Time of Miracles--Hanukkah in Culinary History is owned by . Permission to republish A Time of Miracles--Hanukkah in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.