However you spell it, chanukah, hanukkah, chanukkah, tonight is the first night of the Jewish festival of lights. As Elizabeth Tenety explains:
"Put on your yarmulke, it's time for Hannukah." The ancient Jewish Festival of Lights commemorating the re-dedication of the temple in Jerusalem begins Wednesday at sundown. If you're looking for a little background music for your holiday celebration, look no further than On Faith's selections below.
Adam Sandler's Chanukah song is a favorite of Jews and gentiles alike. With lyrics like, "We got Anne Landers and her sister Dear Abby/ Harrison Ford is a quarter Jewish: not too shabby," you'll be in the satirical spirit in no time.
The traditional potato pancake, the Latke, is a Hanukkah tradition which Jim Shahin has revived with a modern twist:
As Hanukkah approached, I had an idea: How 'bout barbecuing latkes?
Latkes are potato pancakes, fried in oil and often served with sour cream and applesauce. They usually grace the dinner table at some point during the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which, this year, begins at sundown Wednesday. As I considered methods and means, my thoughts turned to my cousin Kathy Brackett, who is Arab American.
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield stopped in to On Faith to tell us about 8 questions we should ask this Hanukkah:
Hanukkah 2010 begins Wednesday night, December 1st. As Americans celebrate Hanukkah 5771 on the Jewish calendar, we also begin to wind up the first decade of the 21st century, and what a decade it has been. We went to war and remains so to this day. Israel and the Palestinians are still unable (unwilling? lack the desire) to make peace. The economy, both at home and in most of the developed world, is still shaky, with most of us wondering exactly how close we came to another Great Depression, and some still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It feels that with every passing day of the last decade, our personal lives, like the Hanukkah top known as a dreidel, spun faster and faster. That's the world of Hanukkah 5771, one which needs Hanukkah and the opportunity it provides ? to remember, reconnect, and renew.
More from the Washington Post
We ask Rabbi Hirschfield the ten most frequently asked questions about Hanukkah
BlogPost: Happy Hanukkah songs fight back
AP: German Jews celebrate beginning of Hanukkah
World: Israeli firefighters say Hanukkah means house fires
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