CHANUKAH MEMORIES

When we were kids, Chanukah was a big deal in our house, as it probably was in every other home where there were kids. Our father made a beautiful table cloth with a blue (of course) Star of David in the middle of it. Around the star were the names of the six of us kids. Appropriate symbols of Chanukah were all over the table cloth. The best part of the whole thing was that he had worked in glitter, so when it was Chanukah, our house always had bits of glitter turning up in unexpected places.

The whole duration of Chanukah, our house stank of oil, onions, garlic and potatoes. Yes, latkes were a daily delight- probably because they were cheap to make! For sure, during Chanukah, the baked potatoes, mashed potatoes and boiled potatoes of a thousand other meals never made an appearance. As we said, it was latkes every night.

Presents were not a daily event. With so many of us in the family, presents were given only on certain nights. Usually, we got one “big” present (something we really, really wanted) and a lot of small presents. Our mother was great at giving us things we needed as Chanukah gifts. Underwear was a biggie. One summer we said that we needed underwear, and our mother replied, “Ok, can you hold out to Chanukah?” Hmmm- we probably were not unique in that, no?

Dreidyl games were cut throat! We literally played for peanuts. In later years, we got fancy and joined the big league of professional gamblers- we used pennies! Each of us had his/her own favorite dreidyl which each of the others found to be entirely too suspect.

Our parents were big believers in the notion of “you have to give back.” Active in the Jewish War Veterans, they often visited hospitalized (former) soldiers. At Chanukah time, some of us were drafted to go with them and sing Chanukah songs for the patients. Thus was born a tremendous sense of responsibility. Often times, our parents would direct us to go to the drug store and buy a cheap gift and wrap it up. Those gifts were either taken to the hospital on our visits or donated to the local “holiday” gift drive.
To this day, lighting the chanukiah gives a thrill that is hard to explain. In the glow of the Chanukah lights, we are transported across the years to a distant childhood past, to the early childhood of our own children and now to our grandchildren.

Chanukah may be a “minor” holiday, but it sure is major in our hearts. Chag Chanukah Sameach!