Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Happy 2600th Post - A Hanukkah Potpourri

Today I am posting my 2,600 blog post, and I have decided to make it a delightful mix.

For the past month, we in the United States have been deluged with the music of Christmas.

But now, Christmas is over, and it is the third full day of Hanukkah. (Here is an explanation of the holiday, .)

Today, for your enjoyment, some music of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, both traditional and modern.  Some are children's songs that teach.  Others are religious in nature.

But first, a few non religious "fun" facts about Hanukkah: (here is another take):
1. One of the fun parts of Hanukkah for children, besides helping to light the Hanukkah candles, is singing songs about the holiday, and playing a game called Dreidel.  When my son was young, I used to play dreidel with him using Cheerios.
2.  Hanukkah is a time to eat fried foods, as foods should contain oil in them.  A favorite is latkes, a fried pancake commonly made with grated potatoes and onions.  More on latkes below.
3. Another favorite is jelly donuts, or sufganiyot.  One will easily set you back some 600 calories, and, nowadays, they are filled not only with jelly but with every imaginable filling.


As this is not a religious blog, I will concentrate on the secular songs, mostly contemporary. But before we get started, how about those sufganiyot?  Want to see how they are made?

And now, some music.



This first song, by Six13,  is a play on "Hamilton", an extremely popular Broadway play in our country.

Next, a traditional children's song called Dreidel, by Shir Soul.

Next, it's time to cook Latkes, as in Latke Recipe, back to the Maccabeats.




A modern song called "Candlelight" also by the Maccabeats. 

A final song, a jazz song called "Hanukkah Lovin'" by Michelle Citrin, for fans of contemporary jazz.

As a year-end bonus, here's a recipe for latkes, a favorite dish for Hanukkah, made with grated potatoes, onions, matzoh meal, and, sometimes, parsnips.  They are normally fried since one of the themes of Hanukkah is cooking with oil - i.e. frying. But I've gained too much weight this holiday season, and, when it comes time for latkes,  I am going to turn to this recipe.  Or something similar.

Another way to cut down the calorie count is to incorporate other veggies into the latke - such as zucchini.   I love them topped with my unsweetened (homemade) applesauce.

Thank you so much to you, my readers, for making this 2,600th post possible.  Without your reading support and comments, I never would have made it this far.

May your days be merry and bright.  And may all your latkes be crispy and light.

26 comments:

  1. A rabbi here is protesting because the prisons do not allow the inmates to have matches and therefore they cannot light the menorahs. I'm thinking that inmates could enjoy all sorts of privileges no matter what their religion is if they just obeyed the law. Duh. Happy Hanukkah. BTW, my Dad made the very best potato latkes. We topped them with grape jelly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grape jelly - hmmmm. I could see that. And, coincidentally, a co worker gave me a jar of Amish-made grape jelly for our department gift exchange at work....

      Delete
  2. Happy Hannukah, Alana! I have Hamilton tickets, but I'm not sure for which date.
    Janice

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have you written your 2,600th post? I've only written a little over 500, and that feels like a lot! Congratulations! How long have you been blogging? How often do you post?
    Janice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been blogging since April of 2009. I've been posting daily since late April of 2011. It's something I started so that a seriously ill friend who enjoyed my blog would always have a new post to read. Although she's gone now, I've continued because I enjoy doing it.

      Delete
  4. First, thank you for quoting my blog. I am truly honored.
    I loved hearing all these songs. But, most of them miss the true concept behind the holiday; as found in a song I learned more than 6 decades ago- Matisyahu. (If you look hard, you can find at least one version on youtube

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haven't found yet, but I will keep trying. Thank you.

      Delete
  5. I LOVE this!!! It is wonderful to be able to share in your holiday. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow Alana. Congratulations on your 2600 blog post!
    Wishing you all the best in 2017.
    Happy Hanukkah!
    My best,
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Nancy! Happy New Year and wishing you the best in 2017.

      Delete
  7. Love to see Chanukah get some attention. When my kids were in elementary school, I used to go into their classrooms to read a chanukah story, teach them to play dreidel and share donuts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You never know what influence you may have had. Thank you for stopping by once again.

      Delete
  8. A very fitting post for number 2600, Congratulations!!! I didn't know that Hanukkah foods were required to be fried because of the oil content requirement. So I learned something thanks to you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, 2600 posts - Congratulations!! Loved reading about Hanukkah, and that recipe sounds great (it has fried potatoes)!!! Wish you a very Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Enjoy Hanukkah it sound like great way to celebrate.
    Coffee is on

    ReplyDelete
  11. Come on give me a Gimmel! Explaining the game to non tribe members is funny since it is a gambling game for children. Yes as a kid we played with gelt but as an adult it is funny to look back and then to say, it is a traditional gambling game and let's divy uptake chocolates.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for sharing your Hanukkah traditions. I'm not Jewish but have celebrated Hanukkah over the years with friends. Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congrats on 2600 posts. I don't know much about Hanukkah, so thanks for the post.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me, and I appreciate each one. These comments are moderated, so they may not post for several hours. If you are spam, you will find your comments in my compost heap, where they will finally serve a good purpose.