Happy Hanukkah!

Every year I have to remind myself of the story of Hanukkah. I don't have it burned in my memory like the other stuff you ought to learn as a kid, since I wasn't raised hearing it. I always remember the basics-- the temple, the oil, the 8 nights of light-- but I usually forget the real history and the fight of the Maccabees. And when I ask Matt, who did hear it as a kid, he usually tells me to look it up or read a book. (I have a feeling the history is a bit jumbled for him too). I found this site, that gives the run down:

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

What I don't need help remembering is how to celebrate. I love to light the Menorah with Matt. And we usually sing some songs or play with the dreidel and gamble with gelt. (In fact, I think we are about tied up this year. A couple of years back I won all of Matt's coins right off the bat, but I think last year he was the clear winner...).

Here are some pictures from last Hanukkah, which we celebrated with the fury babies. Hopefully the boys will love it again this year (they are now in that teenage phase where its not cool to get too excited about holidays :)

The boys love Hanukkah- except Linus, he was napping

Lighting the candles on the Menorah

Sherpa plays with his dreidel

Besides chocolate coins, it is traditional to celebrate Hanukkah by eating foods rich in oil- what better way to acknowledge the miracle of the lamp that burned for 8 days?! Fried potato latkes and doughnuts are the way to go! Maybe this year I will try my hand at making latkes again. They are a lot trickier than they look! (Never once have any homemade ones I've seen turned out like the ones in the photo below). But even if they look a mess and the oil smokes up the whole kitchen, latkes usually turn out pretty tasty.

So Happy Hanukkah to all the Jews and non-Jews alike. May your days (especially the next 8 days) be full of food, games, light and happy miracles!