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Chanukah
Chanukah celebrates an ancient victory that gave Jews the freedom to worship in their traditional ways.
Although Chanukah was originally celebrated simply, there were songs, food, and a game associated with it. Children often lit the orange candles in the menorah, and after a few short prayers they sang songs and ate the latkes-potato pancakes fried in oil-prepared by mother. Then it was time to
spin the dreidl, a game of chance played with a four-sided top. Who would win the prize of nuts or candy? Children’s presents were modest — a sack of chocolate wrapped in gold foil or a bit of money (Chanukah gelt) to spend on something special.
Because the holiday is usually celebrated in December, it has, inevitably, been influenced by the commercialism of Christmas. Over the last fifty years, Jewish women have helped reshape Chanukah by decorating their homes, buying presents for children, hosting parties, and by serving nontraditional foods.
top photo: Members of the Minneapolis Junior Chamber of Commerce present Edith Linoff with a prize for her Chanukah decorations, 1953. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
inset photos: Gingerbread house and cookies made by Doris Kirschner in the 1970s for her annual Chanukah cookie party. Courtesy of Doris Kirschner, Minneapolis, MN.
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