Mrs. Osnow’s Class

My ideal holiday would be celebrating Hanukah with my family. Although I celebrate Hanukah with my mother, father, and sister, the rest of my family live far away.           Hanukah is about Judah Maccabee, and how he led the Jewish army to defeat the Greek king’s army, eventually winning the war.  After that, the Jewish people were free from Greek rule. The Greek didn’t allow the Jews to practice their religion, and if they did, they were put to death. So as you can see, winning this war was extremely important to the Jewish people.           One aspect that I love about Hanukah is the lighting of the glowing candles on the menorah. The menorah has a place for eight candles because it represents the eight days an oil light lasted, when it was only supposed to last one day. I enjoy lighting the candles because of their vibrant colors and dancing flames. Sometimes I wish I could light all of the candles on the menorah by myself, however, we take turns.  I especially enjoy Hanukah for the dreidel game. My favorite part is winning the shiny, smooth, golden wrapped, chocolate coins. We call them “gelt,” which means money in Hebrew. There are four sides of the dreidel. Each side has a letter that represents a word. Together the dreidel symbolizes the saying, “A miracle happened there,” which refers to the oil lasting for eight days.    Most of my family live in many different parts of the country. They live in Florida, Wisconsin, Missouri, and California. It would be fabulous if I could spend at least one Hanukah with them. It would be the most wonderful Hanukah yet to come. Hanukah and holidays in general are about spending time with family. I have loving grandparents, benevolent cousins, candid aunts and uncles, and their adorable pets. I see them each about once or maybe twice a year. However, we never see them on Hanukah.           During the nights of Hanukah, the children receive presents from their parents and family. My sister and I usually receive presents once every night for eight nights after we light the lively candles. Sometimes the present might be minor, for example, sparkly lip gloss. The present could also be more substantial such as a new pair of warm wooly boots.            The food is another part of Hanukah that I enjoy. One main food is latkes (lot- kuhs), which are crispy potato pancakes. You can eat them with creamy sour cream or sweet apple sauce. An important part of making latkes is to fry them in olive oil, to remember the oil lasting for eight days.  

          My opinion is that Hanukah is one of the best holidays of the year. However, it would be more special celebrating with all of my family. I CANT WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!!!