8 FUN Pieces Of Hanukkah Trivia - How Many Do YOU Know?

Lost in the midst of “all-things-Christmas” is the fact that Hanukkah is almost here.  Okay, so Hanukkah isn't as big a holiday for Jews as Christmas is for Christians, but it's still a celebration.  Since mine is an interfaith family and I am not the Jewish parent, I try to add my own spin to the traditional festivities. One way is finding trivia about this holiday and sharing it with my husband and the kids.  So I now I'd like to share with you: 

8 Little-Known Facts about Hanukkah

My family's menorah. 

See how many of these questions YOU can answer without looking!

What does the word, Hanukkah, mean?

Re-dedication. It refers to the Second Temple which was reclaimed by the Maccabees.

What did kids in Yemen go from house to house collecting?

Wicks for the menorah.

Why are children given money and presents during the holiday?

Traditionally, it was to reward them for their Torah studies.

Which nation ruled over Israel at the time of the Hanukkah story?

Syria. 

Why was the Second Temple re-dedicated?

Because Seleucid, king of Syria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, had defiled the temple by having an altar to Zeus placed there. 

Why do families eat latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly doughnuts) during the festivities?

Because they're fried in oil which commemorates the miracle of the oil.

What chant is traditionally sung as the Menorah is being lit?

Hanerot Hallalu.

Why is the dreidel a symbol of Hanukkah? (I LOVE this one!)

During the Syrian-Greek decrees against the Jewish people, one of the many things banned was the study of Torah. Still, the Jews continued secretly teaching and studying the Torah. When a Greek soldier appeared, they'd hide their books and pull out tops and play with their children. Written on the sides of the dreidel are the letters nun, gimmel, heh, and shin, which represent the words nes gadol haya sham, for “A great miracle happened there.” 

So that's why the dreidel is a symbol of Hanukkah!

 

I love acknowledging and celebrating my husband's Jewish traditions with my kids. It's important for children to know where their parents came from and it's been fascinating for me to learn about Judiasm and Jewish culture. I'm looking forward to taking out the menorah and celebrating Hanukkah with my family next week. And you can bet I'll be sharing the trivia above with them as we eat our latkes! 

Thank you for reading and Happy Hanukkah! 

~~

 

Sources for this post included: www.purpletrail.com, www.funology.com, www.cnn.com, and www.aish.com.

 

Mensch On A Bench - Another New, Commercial Holiday Tradition

“Elf-On-A-Shelf Mania” is in full swing and even though I'm already sick of the little smiling bastard, I was quite amused when I recently spotted the Jewish version of the Elf called Mensch On A Bench.

Mensch On A Bench - What a cutie!

In the Elf story, your elf sits somewhere in your house, watching your children and reporting back to Santa if the kids have been naughty or nice. If the kids touch the Elf to see if he/she is real or not, the magic leaves the elf and can only return if you sprinkle a little cinnamon beside them (source: www.elfontheshelf.com); apparently, cinnamon is like “vitamins” for the Elf and gets them back to the North Pole so they can be checked out by “North Pole E.R. Doctors” (I am NOT making this stuff up, but apparently someone does).

Both Elf-On-A-Shelf and the Mensch On A Bench watch over families, judging the behavior of the kids. 

Anyway, like Elf, the Mensch is “filled with holiday magic” and watches over children to see how they're behaving. Both have the power to affect how many presents are received. While the Elf flies back to Santa to tattle on the little ones, the Mensch stays up to watch over the menorah. If the children misbehave in his house, he will holds tightly onto the shamash candle and will not allow them any presents. However, while the Elf is untouchable, the Mensch is like a cuddly, old Jewish guy and is designed to be played with like any other doll.

The Mensch is adorable and especially popular with interfaith families who are always looking to teach old traditions while starting new ones. And the book that comes with the Mensch tells the story of Hanukkah in a heartwarming way with sweet, vivid illustrations. 

 

The problem I have with the Mensch is the “holiday magic” part. For years, I have heard predominately Jewish kids in my town taunt my children, flat out saying that their parents have told them that “Santa is just a myth that Christian parents tell their kids.” Now it seems that those same families are embracing the concept of “holiday magic” and telling their pint-sized skeptics that it's okay to believe in magical beings. If it was a “lie” before told by Christian parents, why is the Mensch a “truth” now that it's being perpetuated by some Jewish ones?   How would they feel if my kids told theirs that the Mensch isn't magic?  

Why was the concept of holiday magic a "lie" before, but it's okay now that's it's being embraced by some Jewish families?  How would they feel if my kids told theirs that the Mensch isn't magic? 

Being in an interfaith marriage and raising our children both faiths (under the umbrella of the Unitarian Universalist Church), my Jewish husband wisely bows his head and sends the kids to me for all-things Santa. He's always known that holiday magic is real and should never be tampered with. Honestly, I don't like any character, magical or not, that stands to judge whether my kids are “naughty” or “nice” - all kids are good; it is their behaviors and decisions that are wrong or right. 

Now, having said this, we do have an Elf, mainly because an old family friend gave it to us. Rather than tattling, Seymour challenges my daughter to find him every morning, a total pain for me, but my little one loves it and while Seymour does fly to Santa, it's more to check in than check up on my kids.

Will we be getting the Mensch? There's no reason to. My kids know the story and traditions associated with Chanukah. They take pride in lighting the menorah every year and are proud of their Jewish heritage. The Mensch is just another commercial way for a company to make money off the “competition” between Chanukah and Christmas. It's another example of commercialism at its worst.

Maybe, rather than naughty or nice, the question for us, as adults, should be how much are we and our families succumbing to the commercialism of the season – whether in the name of Christianity, Judaism, or anything else? Elf-On-A-Shelf? Mensch On A Bench? They're both superfluous. 

Embracing Easter & Passover – How Interfaith Geeks Do It

22 years ago I, a Catholic, married a man who is Jewish in an interfaith ceremony. Officiating was a cantor (Jewish) and a Unitarian minister. I nixed the idea of a priest and honestly, at the time, I doubted that any would have performed the ceremony. We were not the norm back then, as most people and family failed to understand how two such divergent traditions could meld. Nevertheless, combine we did as we raise our children Unitarian, the perfect mix of both traditions where participants are encouraged to find their own truths while being exposed to mainstream doctrines. Still, some people still wonder how, during this week in which Passover and Easter overlap, interfaith families celebrate these traditions, if at all.


In our home, it is important that our kids understand the various traditions and concepts of both holidays. Both know the meaning of the Seder and our Seder plate has had some rather interesting incarnations. While the traditional plate consists of the haroset (a mixture of apples, nuts, etc.), shankbone, egg, horseradish, parsley, and another bitter herb, the kids and I have gotten creative, substituting McDonald's apple slices for the haroset, a chicken bone for the shankbone, relish for the horseradish, and even an Easter egg as the egg. Does it matter that the platter is incorrect? No. It's our way of celebrating the tradition and to my husband, the important part is that his religion is carried on with his kids, at least in some form. Similarly, we've served matzoh and macaroons during Easter dinner.


Last night, at our Seder, my son said the traditional prayers and we left an empty chair, as Jewish tradition dictates, to symbolize those people who live in lands where they cannot celebrate Passover as a free people. On Easter, in addition to the egg hunt and dyed eggs, we'll read the Easter story about an amazing man who gave up his life and defied the grave. We'll point out the fact that Jesus' last supper was, indeed, a Passover Seder which drew people who loved each other together.

Families of different traditions know we have to compromise, picking and choosing carefully which traditions we embrace. InterfaithFamily, an group that promotes Jewish choices for interfaith couples, found in a survey of 327 respondents that while 58% say they will participate in Easter celebrations, only 5% will choose to tell the Easter story. And while 96% say they'll participate in Passover celebrations, only 66% expect to tell the Passover story. Interfaith families, as really all families do, adapt and change the people within them grow and develop.

How will your interfaith family celebrate Easter and Passover? For suggestions and perspectives, visit these links:

• http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/03/passover-seder-jewish-holiday-easter-/1 – USA Today ran an interesting article entitled "One God, two holidays: Passover and Easter At Jewish-Christian Tables" that is certainly worth a look.

• http://www.livestrong.com/article/1000663-bringing-up-children-jewish-catholic-faiths/ - This article from Livestrong.com points out that "Interfaith couples who actively participate in the other's places of worship and celebrations give their children permission to explore the teachings of Catholicism and Judaism and make their own decisions.”

• http://betterafter50.com/2012/04/interfaith-passover-no-problem-interfaith-easter-oy/ - Whereas most websites I've found have a slant toward one religious tradition over another (usually Jewish over Christian because more Jewish sects reach out towards interfaith families than the various Christian groups), this article provides a fairly balanced viewpoint with some delightful melding of traditions, for example, serving matzoh brie at Easter breakfast.
  
  
• www.uua.org – The website of the Unitarian Universalist Association explains how this religious organization embraces and welcomes the beliefs of all.
  

No matter how you celebrate this wonderful season, what's important is that as parents, we cultivate a sense of who we are and what our families believe going forward. Those beliefs provide a safety net for our children as they grow into adults.

Notes:  1.One source used for this article is www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/23/christian-jewish-passover-easter-rob-bell/2011307/. 

            2.  This article first appeared on the website The Geek Parent (www.thegeekparent.com)