"On Hanukkah, the first dark night, light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite, to dance within that gentle light." – Nicholas Gordon

Date:
December 12th to December 20th, 2017

Occasion: Hanukkah

Observed By: Jews

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XXXV | The Menorah on the Mantel

December 12th, 10:00 am

Dear Minnie,

First off, how are you? How was your flight back to Minneapolis? I hope your winter break is going okay. I know you're busy preparing for Christmas, but you asked me to send letters while I'm visiting my family during Hanukkah, so I thought I'd deliver.

I won't be able to write letters for all eight days, since mom keeps nagging me to engage with the celebrations, but I'll write three. One for the beginning, middle, and end.

I know you love that structure. You never read books that end on cliffhangers. I was in your dorm when you were reading The Handmaid's Tale and you threw the book across the room when you finished it. That was one of the scariest experiences of my life.

Also, it costs way too much to send handwritten letters these days, but dumping all this sentimental stuff in a text feels wrong. So, three letters it is. Fairly reasonable prices, and coincides with your old school, romantic style of communication.

Hanukkah preparations have been hectic over the past few days. You know the menorah? The candle holder with nine branches? My brother broke our old one, so I had to run out and grab a new one. Those candles are super important, so mom was practically ripping her hair out.

Speaking of the menorah, we're lighting the first candle tonight. You said you researched Hanukkah, and you're a human encyclopedia, so I'm sure you know all about it, but we light one candle each day after sunset. I mean, this is the Jewish festival of lights, so candles are essential. I just hope no one accidentally sets the curtains on fire this year.

I'm also helping mom out in the kitchen, so if you have any cooking tips, give me a call, because I have no idea what I'm doing. Since Hanukkah is an oil-based celebration, what with the candle wax and all, eating oil-fried foods is a must. When I first heard about that, I almost cried. I mean, being encouraged to eat jam doughnuts for eight days straight? Straight up heaven.

Since you love everything to do with spuds, could you send me a great potato pancake recipe? And yes, I know, potato pancakes sound super weird, but they taste amazing and it's a tradition to eat them. We even have a Hebrew word for them, latkes.

You could even make some yourself and let me know what you think. I still remember those heavenly rosemary potatoes you made last summer. I mean, to be fair, you had to make them three times over to get them perfect, and you made me book your manicure while you cooked, but those roast potatoes made everything worth it.

Also, twenty dollars to paint a couple of nails? Totally not worth it.

Anywho, nothing much has happened so far. Hanukkah is a huge phenomenon in North America because it gets lumped in with Christmas, but for us Jews, it's fairly minor. No public holidays, no one sneaking into our house in the dead of night and drinking our milk and cookies. No sleighs, nor carols, and I would pay to see a Hanukkah reindeer.

I'll update you more on the festivities after a couple of days. I know you love hearing all about celebrations, so I'll humor you and tell you more about our Hanukkah antics. For now, I bid you adieu, and I hope you don't get buried in fifty feet of Minneapolis snow.

Love,
Scott

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December 16th, 2:27 pm

Dear Minnie,

We're four days into Hanukkah now, and about to light the fourth candle tonight. I've spent my time staring into the flames and having existential crises. I'm meant to communicate with the candles and listen to what they say, whatever that means, but I'm a realist. I mean, it's an inanimate object. Am I supposed to hear it burst into musical soundtracks?

If you were here with me, I know you'd tell me that I should keep an open mind. Yes, I know, but it's just not a part of who I am, you know? Wow, that went too deep. Nope, rewind back to jolly celebrations. So, four days in, three candles lit. Winter break is boring me to death. I wish you were here with me. We would play board games together and catch up on some shows.

Thanks for texting me that potato pancake recipe, by the way. Mom said it was the best one she had ever tried, so kudos to you, because my mom is a Gordon Ramsay level food critic. Eating the pancakes with applesauce and sour cream was genius. I had to resist the urge to hurl when I first read your suggestion, but they gave the dish a nice kick. Am I using that term right?

Halfway through Hanukkah and we only started playing board games this morning. The most important game is the one played with a dreidel, which is a four-sided spinning top that has the Hebrew letters inscribed on each side. We win depending on which side the top lands on.

People usually play these games to win money or something with monetary value. Since my family is hella cheap, we played for a bar of chocolate. My older brother won, but my youngest sister got the chocolate because she gave him her irresistible puppy dog eyes.

Alongside that traditional game, my siblings have also started playing Monopoly. They're driving me up the wall. How do they bankrupt me so quickly? I start off strong, but they somehow take ownership of all my property within an hour. I told them they should all be real estate agents when they grow up. They started poking fun at my film major afterward, those little turds.

So, you told me that the longer and juicer my letters are, the more you cherish them. I doubt vicious family games of Pictionary count, but I made up for my terrible Monopoly skills with my awesome Pictionary ones. I destroyed my siblings in every game until they decided to ban it for the rest of Hanukkah. See? Being a film major helps with creativity. It's not totally useless.

I hope you're having fun at home, being buried in a thick blanket of snow. Last I checked, you still have cell reception, and my letters seem to be reaching you at a surprisingly fast rate considering it's the holiday season, so those are good signs.

I hear people are starting to put up Christmas trees and frantically buying gifts for their distant relatives. I've enclosed your Christmas gift in a parcel alongside this letter. I hope it doesn't get lost in the post. I'm not used to buying that sort of gift, so I hope I got something to your taste.

Love,
Scott

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December 20th, 11:11 pm

Dear Minnie,

Thanks so much for your gift! I secretly wanted new headphones.They probably cost a fortune. You really shouldn't have. I love them, though. They were the ones I was eyeing up for months, but you know me so well that you probably knew that.

Also, I'm glad you like the present I got you. Candles are hard to choose, but I know you love fresh and floral, so I tried to go for those scents. The cotton one smelled so good that I got one for myself, and I knew you'd freak out over the book scent.

Also, we must've sent our gifts around the same time. What if they crossed paths? That would be awesome. I know we text every day and our Snapchat streak is fire, but I always feel a flare of excitement when I get your packages and letters in the mail. I really like how you go old school. Writing these letters has given me something to do.

I know I said I would be super busy over Hanukkah, and I sort of was, but I had more free time than I anticipated. I still stand by the three letter idea, though. The post would definitely be out of sync if I'd tried to send you a letter each day.

So, this is the last day of Hanukkah, and by the time you receive this, Hanukkah will be over. I just thought I should experience some of the final Hanukkah celebrations with you. The lighting of the eighth candle, having another existential crisis whilst staring into said candle, those sorts.

You also asked me to go over the history of Hanukkah. Even though you did your research, and I'm sure you got everything right because you're a genius, you wanted to hear the history from someone who celebrates Hanukkah, so here I am, a Jewish genie, here to fulfill your wishes.

Way back in the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by Syrian-Greeks. They tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs. Then, a small group of Jews defeated the Greek army and told them to shove off, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and rededicated it to God.

This is where the menorah comes in. When the Jews wanted to light the menorah, they only found one cruse of olive oil that the Greeks left untouched. You know how the Greeks were known for their olives, the whole Athena thing with the olive tree and Athens.

Anyhow, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil somehow lasted eight days. After those eight days, new oil could be prepared through purification rituals. To publicise the defeat of the mighty Greeks, lighting the menorah became a tradition, which eventually blossomed into what we know as Hanukkah today. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Right, so, that's the history. Like I said, you're a human encyclopedia, so I'm sure you got every detail. You take your history major way too seriously. If you ever need help with any Jewish celebrations, hit me up.

The clock just turned 11:11 pm. Maybe that means good luck. If it does, I'll pass that luck onto you. Christmas is in less than a week and I know you're stressing out because you stress over everything. Maybe my gifted luck will make things a bit easier.

Anywho, I talked you through Hanukkah, and that's about all you need to know. I hope you get to catch up on all your favorite books over the Christmas break. I'll see you in a few weeks, alright? Take care, Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah, Minnie.

Love,
Scott