Happy Hanukkah

[Trek420]

Happy Hanukkah, today is the first night.

Hardly traditional I know but I brought bagel chips to work. :)

I'm in the midst of a remodel and my menorah is somewhere??? :confused:

[Running Mommy]

we made Latkes tonight..
Not jewish, but wanted to throw a nod to the jewish faith. I have family members in my German Lineage that are Jewish and went through the concentration camps. So even though I was raised catholic, I've always felt a kinship to those of the jewish faith.

[Trek420]

....and we do have great food :D

[margo49]

Where ya been, Trek?
We're up to 3 candles tonight!

Thinks: must be one of those Reform Jews they keep warning us about over here. Or maybe it's yet another G*Y agenda impacting upon us!

[kelownagirl]

Happy Hanukkah Trek and others!

[lauraelmore1033]

Dang! I missed it. My mother converted to Judaism in her late 50s after marrying a Jewish man. She always thought the exchange of christmas gifts was important when I was growing up, but now it's "whoops I missed it, happy Chranukkah anyway!" Is it my imagination, or does the date change every year?

[salsabike]

Bagel chips count.:cool:

[Crankin]

Happy Chanukah to everyone.
Had latkes and kugel on Tuesday night. Trying to eat "normal" food until Saturday when we have a party to go to.

[KnottedYet]

Laurelmore - there are a few days yet, it just started.

[uk elephant]

Happy hanukkah to all! I totally forgot about it last night! But I will dig out my candles and set up my menorah tonight. And maybe even get the family holiday cards written.....

[Running Mommy]

....and we do have great food :D

Yep! Great food!! Though the kosher kitchen confounds me..I was a nanny in New York back in the late 80's/early 90's. The family was Jewish and had a kosher kitchen. Two of everything, things could't mingle, it was quite an adjustment for this little catholic girl from California! :p

Hey come to think of it, I made matzo ball soup over the weekend. I have a horrible cold, and I just needed some good soup. Boy howdy did that do the trick!!

[Trek420]

Where ya been, Trek?
We're up to 3 candles tonight!

Thinks: must be one of those Reform Jews they keep warning us about over here. Or maybe it's yet another G*Y agenda impacting upon us!

That must be the time difference ;)

[margo49]

No way!!

I will send you a proper Jewish Calendar for Christmas so you can get it rite :rolleyes: next year, Trek my dear old Greek Island Witchy Woman

[Pedal Wench]

Dang! I missed it. My mother converted to Judaism in her late 50s after marrying a Jewish man. She always thought the exchange of christmas gifts was important when I was growing up, but now it's "whoops I missed it, happy Chranukkah anyway!" Is it my imagination, or does the date change every year?

The date DOES change every year, according to the modern calendars. Makes it really hard to keep up. My non-Jewish BF had to remind me it was the holiday. Odd -- I spent it decorating the Christmas tree at work.:rolleyes: I did have latkes today though. What night are we up to? Might light candles at least one night!

[Trek420]

Ok, quick TE latke poll: do you make the grated or the mashed type of latke? and is it kosher to mix in sweet potatoes? (delish, but not traditional I know).

I prefer the mashed kind.

[Brandi]

I think our family was jewish but in deniel when they got here. We are very german! Maybe we had to hide it becuase of that. I should look into to that.
My grandmothers name was Ester Steiner. How could we not be jewish? And my grandfather was a butcher! Hardmen was also a family name.
Do you think it is possible? Interesting. I have blue lights up to honor the jewish side of me. And Tonight I want to make potatoe pancakes! MMMM with applesauce and sour cream........arrrrrgh! (drooling like Homer Simpson)

[margo49]

I grated a zuchinni and a piece of winter squash, added fresh-picked parsley and just a smijen (??sp) of seasonings (salt, black pepper, garlic) and alongside them a yoghurt-mint sauce for self and the SO.

DD and DS#2 off with camp-stoves, frypans, gallons of oil and a crowd of raging adolescents doing the grated potato-onion Eastern European traditional
and hopefully not ending up in the Burns Unit.

[Pedal Wench]

Ok, quick TE latke poll: do you make the grated or the mashed type of latke? and is it kosher to mix in sweet potatoes? (delish, but not traditional I know).

I prefer the mashed kind.

Grated!

*spoken in your best Yiddish accent*: "Vhat's a latke vitout a little blood mixed in?"

[Running Mommy]

Grated- and with onion...
And like Brandi I think my family tried to hide our jewish heritage when they came over on the boat. I know they changed the spelling of their name.
As for the religion part, my Grandpa was raised Lutheran, but took on the catholic faith of my portugese grandmother when they married.
As a side bar- It was scandalous at the time that a German man would marry a Portugese woman.. Go Figure?! :confused:
But I know there is the jewish faith in there somewhere because I have relative who has that nasty tatoo on her forearm...

[LoriO]

Grated!!!! I think Saturday night is going to be Latke night at my house.

Hubby got me the cutest tshirt, Anyone familiar with the site, I can has Cheesesteak? It is one of those on the shirt

It has a kitten with a dreidel on the front and it says I has a little Dreidel. Really cute!

[Crankin]

Grated, but I admit that I actually like the mix (:eek: ) from Manashevitz better! And sweet potato latkes are a traditional Sephardic dish.

Robyn

[margo49]

4 (four) candles tonite, Trek!

[Trek420]

Thanks for keeping track. I'm off to work, we're decorating the office so I'm wrapping one of the interior columns with Hannukah paper and matching ribbon. :cool:

[RoadRaven]

and just a smijen (??sp)

smidgen... I think...

Gets nose out of dictionary and goes back to reading about yummy food :D and a celebration that doesn't even get a mention :( in our local media...

[Trek420]

smidgen... I think...

Gets nose out of dictionary and goes back to reading about yummy food :D and a celebration that doesn't even get a mention :( in our local media...

After all, how many Jews are there in Middle Earth? We are everywhere! :D

Is "smidgen" Yiddish? I should know that.

[RoadRaven]

Yes... we have significant Jewish communities here... but little recognition even though they share one significant set of books with the Christian community (the Olde Testament)

And even though we are supposed to be a non-secular country, we continue to but into only the commercialised Christian festivals (Easter and Christmas)
and one Americanised version of an Old Faith belief system (Halloween).

What about our rich multicultural, multifaith culture which is developing.

We are a young country, we should be making our own way (YAY - MATARIKI is becoming mainstream AT LAST) and not mindlessly adopting and celebrating the ways of other countries.

Whoops... I better get off my soap-box... :p


:D HAPPY CHANUKAH ALL! :D

[RoadRaven]

Is "smidgen" Yiddish? I should know that.

Ummm..... I don't know.....

[Trek420]

Whoops... I better get off my soap-box... :p


:D HAPPY CHANUKAH ALL! :D

Oh, get back up there, I'll join ya', woops, there's no room.

This amazes me, it's our shared Judeo/Christian tradition. I would think more Christians would know about Jewish religion. It's our shared background, history, basis ... the King of the Jews! The Last supper was a Passover Sedar. Oy.

I think it's fun to learn about other cultures religions (ok, I'm odd, I think learning, discussing and reading are fun).

Many secular traditions, the yule log, tree, the lights .... are derived from Pagan traditions. Deck the halls with ... fa' lah lah lah lah.

I'm in favor of and and all holidays with good food!

[Duck on Wheels]

I'm missing Channuka this year :eek: Not a menorah in sight up here in Montreal, although the flight over had a number of Hassids, but I've got no wig so can't go searching them out just to watch the candles burn. I think I catch the last night when I land in California.

And on behalf of my protofeminist grandmothers, who secularized the families just because keeping a kosher household was so goldarned much WORK! (and they had full jobs outside the home already) ... I vote for mashed potato latkes, using leftover mashed potatoes. But I do like'em with a bit of freshly chopped onion tossed in. :p

p.s. I think the Yiddish word for smidgen may be "bissele".

[Running Mommy]

I'm missing Channuka this year :eek: Not a menorah in sight up here in Montreal, although the flight over had a number of Hassids, but I've got no wig so can't go searching them out just to watch the candles burn.
p.s. I think the Yiddish word for smidgen may be "bissele".

When we took running son to NYC last month I had to explain the Hassids to him. He loved the long curls on some of them. He's very curious about people of other faiths, nationalities etc.
At one point we were walking through the city and he whispered to me "mom. there are A LOT of Jewish people here. Do we have any in Arizona, or do they all live here??"...
That's why I'm glad I have the opportunity to travel with him. I don't want to raise him in an insulated bubble like I was. When I moved to New York to be a nanny at age 19 I was shell shocked! Best thing for me, but MAN was it a step out of my comfy box.

[margo49]

I first heard smidgen from a Canadian Jewish woman in New Zealand in December, 1973. Make of that what you will.

[margo49]

5 candles tonight, Trek.
Wonderful, innit?

[Trek420]

And on behalf of my protofeminist grandmothers, who secularized the families just because keeping a kosher household was so goldarned much WORK! (and they had full jobs outside the home already) ... I vote for mashed potato latkes, using leftover mashed potatoes. But I do like'em with a bit of freshly chopped onion tossed in. :p

I also vote for mashed style so latke season starts with Thanksgiving leftovers. :D Doesn't mutual-Mom put a little breading on the pancake of matzo meal?

Besides the goldarned work I'd heard our mutual maternal grandmother refused to cut her hair when she married. Her DH did not mind (she was very beautiful) so what's not to like? This caused conflict when they left Poland for America with the plan to work and bring the family over her Mom (our mutual great grandma) refused to see them off at the train station.

Of course she never saw her family again. :(

I heard she blamed these traditions as much or more than the Nazis for her loss feeling somehow they would have made it out if not for this conflict over them. I'm sure that was not correct, they could not escape Poland. She got one sister out but not the rest. But that was her feeling and so she never followed Orthodox traditions.

[tygab]

My (Catholic) hubby has been away, but he didn't want me to feel forgotten so he had some things to arrive here while he was gone (some sox, handwarmers, iTunes card)... very cool.

He'll be back tonight and we'll light the menorah together.

In my family we always tried (and now I've done this with him) to pick right after lighting the candle that goes out the last... does anyone else do this?

:D

I will have to try making latkes out of mashed potatos. That sounds like something even I could do.

Happy Hanukkah!