Hunnika villa biography
•
Hanukkah’s History? Perhaps Not What You Thought
Being Jewish during the holidays can be confusing for everyone. This card available in our Museum shop might be just the thing.
With the holiday season comes holiday cheer… for some. Every year among those happily tuning in to holiday stations, are those who grumble and Grinch. Let’s classify them as two separate groups of people: those who have no love of life or cheer( this type of person has been in business since long before the Dickensian model, Scrooge, debuted in 1843), and those who insist that Christmas used to be nice but “now is so commercialized that they start advertising before the Halloween candy is out of the CVS.”
Then there is the special subset of people whose grumbling also extends to Hanukkah.
My parents joined the national effort of Jewish parents everywhere, trying to create a Hanukkah which was festive enough to be special rather than substitutional. They did a great job, but when I reached
•
For most of American history, the only December holiday ever celebrated in the White House was Christmas. Now, however, the vit House hosts an annual Hanukkah party where traditional holiday candles are ceremonially lit on an official White House Hanukkah menorah. When and how did this happen, and what does it mean?
In this episode of History Happy Hour, Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and Chief Historian of The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia will examine “How Hanukkah Came to the White House,” in a schema moderated by Laura Apelbaum, former executive director of DC’s Jewish Historical Society.
Sarna’s talk will trace Hanukkah at the White House from 1979, when President Jimmy Carter crossed over to Lafayette Park to light a Hanukkah menorah and deliver brief remarks, to the present-day practice of hosting both a Hanukkah party and an
•
White House Hanukkah Party
Annual reception held at the White House
| Hanukkah | |
|---|---|
A Hanukkah menorah (9-branch candelabra) | |
| Official name | Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה or חנוכה English translation: "Establishing" or "Dedication" (of the Temple in Jerusalem) |
| Also called | Festival of Lights, Festival of Dedication |
| Observed by | Jews |
| Celebrations | Lighting the lights on the branches of the Hanukkah menorah (Hanukkiyah). Special foods, prayers, and songs. |
| Begins | 25 Kislev on the Jewish calendar |
| Ends | 8 days later: 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet on the Jewish calendar, depending on the year. |
The White House Hanukkah Party is an annual reception held at the White House and hosted bygd the U.S.President and First Lady to recognize and celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The tradition was established in 2001, during the administration of George W. Bush. The guest list includes hundreds of American Jewish politicians, organization heads, and school and yeshiva deans.&