The Jewish festival of Hanukkah is celebrated each year to commemorate the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BCE. Special rituals are held including the lighting of the menorah, the spinning of the dreydl and the eating of traditional Jewish foods. Many of these foods have symbolic meanings such as their oil content or their shape, and hold an important place within the celebration of the festival.
What Are Traditional Foods For Hanukkah?
One of the traditional dishes of Hanukkah is latkes, a type of potato pancake often served with sour cream or apple sauce. Latkes are fried in oil, which commemorates the oil that miraculously lasted for eight days and nights. Often eaten during Hanukkah, sufganiyot are jelly doughnuts. The roundness of this dessert is said to symbolize the cycle of the year and the importance of creating a positive, ongoing cycle of doing good deeds.
Another popular Hanukkah treat is lokshen kugel, a noodle pudding often combined with cottage cheese, sour cream, and cinnamon. It is usually baked or cooked in oil, which evokes the story of the oil lasting in the temple. Hamantaschen, also known as ‘Oznei Haman’ or ‘Haman’s ears’, are triangular pastries filled with prunes, poppy seed, or other fillings. According to a Jewish legend, Haman had a triangular-shaped hat and the pastries are made that shape in order to ‘blot out’ the memory of Haman.
Sephardic Hanukkah Foods
Sephardic Jews, who span Jewish populations throughout the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Middle East, also celebrate Hanukkah with their own traditional foods. A very popular recipe is bimuelos, a doughnut-like pastry usually served with an orange honey sauce. Sephardic Jews also have their own version of latkes called bimuelos de patata (potato bimuelos). In Yemen, Jews traditionally make zalabia or honey doughnuts.
Conclusion
Hanukkah is a time to celebrate and remember the miracle of the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks and the restoration of their temple. A number of traditional Jewish dishes are were made to commemorate the festival, each with their own special meaning and place in the celebration of the holiday.
In conclusion, Hanukkah is a holiday celebrating the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and many of the popular dishes – such as latkes, sufganiyot, lokshen kugel, hamantaschen and bimuelos – become part of the celebration of the festival, each with its own special symbolic meaning.
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Last update 2023-11-27. Price and product availability may change.