How TO CELEBRATE
Hanukkah

The Festival of Lights is all about family, friends, and traditions. The menorah may be the most symbolic element, but there are others (including the white-and-light-blue palette) that also shine bright. Here, some twists on traditions that may add a new glow to your celebration.

Tip

To make the place cards above, cut out two dreidel shapes from card stock (see template on page 387), making a slit in pointed end of each. Write name on one cutout, then slip pieces together at slits. For the gelt favors, embellish small cellophane envelopes with a menorah stamp (both found at craft supply stores or online) before filling with treats.

the menorah

Hebrew for “candelabrum,” the menorah is central to any Hanukkah celebration. The legend is thus: In ancient Israel, when the Jews reclaimed their temple and won religious freedom, a candelabrum miraculously burned for eight days, fueled by an amount of olive oil that should have lasted only one.

• Rather than buying a menorah, many families prefer to create their own; see two examples on page 353. Just make sure it holds nine candles, one for each night of the eight-day celebration, plus one for the shammes, the candle used to light all the others.
• As the holiday progresses, the candles are placed from right to left, and then lit from left to right. The new light is always lit first (after the shammes).

Traditional foods

Holiday meals revolve around fried foods such as latkes and doughnuts, which, in their preparation, refer to the miracle of the oil. You can stick with classic versions or give them a few thoughtful updates.

• Latkes can be tweaked to include other roots in addition to regular or sweet potatoes. Try adding grated carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, or rutabaga, for example.
• Instead of the standard applesauce topping, swap in pear or quince, and add fresh ginger, ground toasted cardamom, or pure maple syrup in lieu of other sweeteners.
• Additional sweet and savory topping ideas include smoked salmon and horseradish sauce; crème fraîche with sliced pear and cinnamon; and honey-drizzled pomegranate seeds.
• Sugar-dusted sufganiyot, or jelly-filled doughnuts, are the usual dessert. For a yeast-free alternative, make apple or pear fritters.

gifts and games

No celebration would be complete without dreidels and gelt, at least for younger guests.

• Derived from a German word for “to turn,” dreidels are also fun for kids to fold out of paper, origami-style; then have them write the four Hebrew letters—nun, gimel, hey, and shin (“a great miracle happened there”)—on each of the spinning toy’s four sides.
• Gelt, chocolate coins wrapped in foil, are a must for giving as gifts to children—and they make appropriate party favors for all ages.