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Article: Hanukkah foods that go beyond potato latkes.(Features)(Homefront)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- December 20, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Hanukkah, the yearly Festival of Lights, is the only major Jewish holiday not based on the canonized Hebrew Bible.
It commemorates the cleansing and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem, when the triumphant Maccabees returned and found only enough oil to light the menorah (eight-branched candelabrum) for one night. Miraculously, the single day's supply lasted the entire eight days of the joyous time. Hence the importance of oil and the traditional fried foods honoring and remembering the ancient miracle.
For most Americans, Jewish Hanukkah fare is typified by potato latkes and other foods of the Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews. Their numbers ...