Feliz Januca

In Mexico, the fesitval of lights is called "Januca."

Children play toma todo--a game of dreidel--but the highlight of the celebration is breaking a pinata shaped like a dreidel and collecting sweets and toys.

Learn more about Hanukkah, Latino-style, complete with recipes for bunuelos, or fried dough!

--from Hanukkah Around the World by Tami Lehman-Wilzig

Hanukkah Nosh

It's certainly cold and snowy here in Minneapolis, which makes for cozy holiday gatherings! This Hanukkah, besides making fried latkes and sufganiyot, why not add a new recipe? Share a new food with your little ones and get them involved in the kitchen.

Here's a new take on Hanukkah Gelt: chocolate covered apricots! These are easy and fun to make, but be sure to make extra if you've got hungry dreidel players.

Amy at Homeshuling was inspired by our book Harvest of Light and decided to integrate olive oil into her Hanukkah celebration. Olive oil is a healthy alternative to fried foods (not to mention more sophisticated!) and there's lots you can do with it. Host an olive oil tasting featuring infused olive oils and crusty bread. Infuse your own olive oil, or see what your local specialty store has to offer. It makes great gifts!

You can even bake with olive oil! Here's a recipe for Almond Citrus Olive Oil Cake from TC Jewfolk's column Noshin'. It looks yummy and light, a nice alternative when you've had too many doughnuts and cookies.

But if you're craving a doughnut, try these burmelos from Turkey!

Recipe adapted from Hanukkah Around the World

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cup of flour
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
Your favorite syrup (maple, chocolate, etc.)

1. In a medium bowl, beat egg and milk using a fork or whisk.
2. Add cinnamon and baking powder, mix to combine.
3. Add flour in stages and mix until thick.
4. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Drop the batter by tablespoons into the hot oil, keeping fritters a few inches apart.
5. Turn the fritters over and let both sides brown evenly.
6. Remove from oil and set them on paper towels to cool and drain.
7. Serve with your favorite syrup. Yum!

Other recipe recommendations:

Smitten Kitchen's latkes (with beautiful photography!)

Sweet Potato Latkes from TC Jewfolk

Apple and Pear Beignets with Vanilla Bean Sugar – a French twist on sufganiyot

For Kurdistan Jews, Hanukkah is a Time to Reuse & Recycle

Author Tami Lehman-Wilzig was kind enough to share with us a Hanukkah tradition from Kurdistan. Tami writes about all kinds of multicultural Jewish holiday celebrations and customs at her blog. They are a great way to integrate new traidtions into your classroom or family. Thanks, Tami!

The three “Rs” – Reduce, Reuse & Recycle – have become today’s environmental mantra. As Westerners who really have it all, we never stop to think that there are Jews who don’t need the ecology cause to practice the “Reuse” principle. Take the Jews from Kurdistan and their charming, low budget way of shedding light on Hanukkah’s oil miracle. Kurdish Jews who could not afford a Hanukkiah used eggshells as cups for wicks and oil. There was no egg on anyone’s face because they didn’t have enough money. On the contrary. Eggs were eaten either for breakfast, lunch or dinner and the cracked egg shells were saved for lighting what I call the Eggnukia, every night. Tell your students to scramble home and try out this neat Hanukkiah alternative. Every which way, it gives the correct message – they’ll learn how to reuse and at the same time not take material goods for granted. If anything, maybe it will prompt them to start accumulating their own nest egg for next year’s Hanukkah presents.

For more Hanukkah customs, check out Tami's new book Hanukkah Around the World. Get a 20% discount on your order when you shop at karben.com and use the discount code TAMI when you check out. This offer is available until January 15, 2010.