{"id":1438,"date":"2018-12-21T23:56:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-22T06:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marvista.com\/Yukiko\/?p=1438"},"modified":"2018-12-22T16:40:41","modified_gmt":"2018-12-22T23:40:41","slug":"1438","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marvista.com\/Yukiko\/en\/archives\/1438","title":{"rendered":"About one of Jewish holidays “Hanukkah”"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
<\/a>2+<\/span>\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n\t

We do not celebrate\u00a0Christmas<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas is coming <\/span><\/p>\n

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There is Christmas decoration everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Beautiful Christmas tree in a restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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As I wrote before, my husband is Jewish.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Christmas is the ceremony to celebrate Jesus was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jewish people do not celebrate Christmas because it is all about the birth of Jesus and<\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas is for Christians.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We do not have\u00a0any tradition to decorate a Christmas tree or eat a Christmas meal on\u00a0<\/span>December <\/span><\/p>\n

24th or 25th.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So our house is a little bit dreary\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Every year my husband says, “If you want to decorate for Christmas, it is OK, y<\/span>ou can do it yourself.<\/span>“<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, I am thinking “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” and just follow to my husband’s culture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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So I do not decorate for Christmas every year.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Jewish people are not\u00a0devout Jews, but they still celebrate some religious holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of them is called\u00a0<\/span>“Hanukkah”\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>and it does not mean the same thing as of Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It is not popular for Japanese.<\/span><\/p>\n

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By coincidence, it usually occurs about the same time of year as Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We celebrated Hanukkah at husband’s sister’s house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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After Thanksgiving in November, American Jewish people start to prepare for Hanukkah.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is “Hanukkah”?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hanukkah is a Hebrew word and it means “Dedication”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev\u00a0<\/span>according<\/span> to\u00a0<\/span>t<\/span>he Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to\u00a0late December.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Hebrew or Jewish calendar is based on the moon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Months are exactly 28 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So each year has either 12 or 13 months,\u00a0 \u00a0depending on how the cycle needs to\u00a0<\/span>be<\/span> synchronized<\/span> with<\/span><\/p>\n

the solar year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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So this causes Hanukkah to occur at different times in every year of the Gregorian (popular) calendar.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The table setting for Hanukkah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Around 200 B.C., the Holy Land, land of Israel, was ruled by the Syrian-Greeks<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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The Jewish people were oppressed by Syrian-Greeks and also Judaism was prohibited.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Finally, the Jewish people rose in revolt against Syrian-Greeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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They then recaptured the Land of Israel and\u00a0<\/span>the Holy Temple as well in 165 B.C.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Almost all of the barrels of olive oil which use for lighting the Holy Temple Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum)\u00a0<\/span>were crushed by Syrian-Greeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, Jewish soldiers found just one barrel which was enough for just one day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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They lit the menorah and the oil lasted for eight days, which was until new oil could be prepared<\/span><\/p>\n

under conditions\u00a0<\/span>of ritual purity.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jewish people were happy that this is a great miracle. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Then they started to celebrate this happy miracle to never forget.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is the history of “Hanukkah”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jewish people light candles with candelabrum called a “Hanukiah” which has nine branches.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is nine-branched candelabrum called “Hanukiah”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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For these “Hanukkah” is called “The festival of lights” as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Singing a prayer song and lighting the candles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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What kind of food is served at <\/b>Hanukkah<\/b><\/span><\/span>?\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, there are some traditional foods just served at Hanukkah.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The most popular food is fried mixed potatoes and onions called “Latkes”<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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It is similar to Japanese pancake called “Okonomiyaki”<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
This is Japanese style pancake called “Okonomiyaki”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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As I wrote about the history of Hanukkah, lighting the eight candles in the menorah commemorates<\/span><\/p>\n

the miracle of light.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So oil is a key element in the Hanukkah celebration and plays a large role in cooking traditional foods<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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This is a plate of Latkes. Eating with sour cream and applesauce is the traditional way to eat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The Latke recipe is mostly shredded potatoes mixed with onions, eggs, flour, and seasonings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then they are formed into a small shape and fried in oil.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Crispy latkes are served with sour cream and applesauce on the side.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The next traditional food is roast chicken and a green salad.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Simple roasted chicken and a green salad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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For dessert, we ate a chocolate bite-sized pastry called Rugelach.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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This is bite-sized pastry, Rugelach. It is popular in middle eastern countries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Every year we buy Rugelach at Lenny’s Deli<\/span><\/strong> which is closed to our house.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I compared these to Rugelach from other bakeries.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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But Lenny’s is the best, I think.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Not sweet and tasty\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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They have many flavors such as apple, raspberry, raisin, chocolate and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Lenny’s Deli is an old delicatessen which is very popular in LA. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Also, they have a restaurant as well<\/span> so you can eat inside.<\/span><\/p>\n

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About Lenny’s Deli\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2193\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2193\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2193<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/lennysdelilosangeles.com\/10629<\/a><\/p>\n

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After the meal . . .<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

After the meal, there is a surprise event waiting for kids. (Almost kids are more than 16 )\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Adults gave some gifts to kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Christmas is the day to exchange gifts with family, friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Historically, Jewish people do not celebrate for Christmas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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But during the last century, children of Jewish families complained to their parents or Rabbi,<\/span><\/p>\n

because their Christian friends were getting gifts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So, over many years the Jewish tradition because closer to the Christian practices in America.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So now, Jewish families exchange gifts on Hanukkah, but not on Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
Even though kids have grown up, still they love to get gifts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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It is interesting for me that religion has to change depending on the times\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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My husband does not like to go shopping so he gives cash to them.\u00a0 Haha\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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He remembers that, as a child, the best gift was cash money, which was usually better <\/span><\/p>\n

than clothes or even toys.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A little something extra . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is not related to Hanukkah, I want to introduce some great decorations for Christmas in <\/span><\/p>\n

this West Los Angeles neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
Many characters, Snoopy, Mickey and so on in the yard\uff01<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
This is another house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Beautiful house which is decorated with lights.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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I can find some cars which decorated like this.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
This is vintage Christmas decoration!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
It is hard to recognize. A car with reindeer angle and red-nose<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Thank you for reading my blog today as well!<\/span><\/p>\n

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I would be glad if you pressed the button<\/span> \u00a0and sent me a message<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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