(Our Hanukah display (clockwise from bottom left): sour cream, latkes, plates, applesauce, chocolate coin, cell phone, matches, Hanukah candles, tissues, giraffe bowl, red wine, hanukiah, dreidel, Shabbat candles.)For the Hanukah party on Friday, S and I made latkes and sufganiyot from scratch--both were delicious, which was lucky because we didn't really know what we were doing.
(A recipe from Martha Stewart, who is of course known for her Jewish recipes.)Most of the people at our Hanukah party had never been to a Hanukah party before. So I taught them a tiny bit about Hanukah and what we were doing and eating. When I do this, I feel myself falling a bit too easily into Jewish educator mode and it freaks me out a little.
(The first half of the night was an game of elimination to see who could stay upright with the entire apartment placed at an angle.)
I explained that Hanukah is a holiday about the Maccabees and eating things fried in oil.
(I considered setting the giraffe tapestry on fire, but then I remembered that's what you do on Passover.)We lit the candles for the third night.
Then we lit Shabbat candles. I screwed up the melody and somehow ended up singing Kiddush. Hijinks!
(The three people who understood I was singing the wrong blessing got a real crack out of it.)
Then I spent most of the night trying to make sure our party didn't end up dividing itself along racial lines, which it inevitably did. A little. Oh well. Turns out Batswana people don't have parties where they sit around and talk. One of my Motswana friends complained that her throat hurt from talking so much and she had never talked this much before in her entire life. At Batswana parties, they just dance. (Actually, this is true. A and his coworkers had an end-of-the-year party for their research team and it also ended with everyone dancing.)
All the same, people stayed for hours and seemed to have a good time. It got pretty wild.
Not really. But it was fun.
(Our Hanukah display (clockwise from bottom left): sour cream, latkes, plates, applesauce, chocolate coin, cell phone, matches, Hanukah candles, tissues, giraffe bowl, red wine, hanukiah, dreidel, Shabbat candles.)
(A recipe from Martha Stewart, who is of course known for her Jewish recipes.)
(The first half of the night was an game of elimination to see who could stay upright with the entire apartment placed at an angle.)
(I considered setting the giraffe tapestry on fire, but then I remembered that's what you do on Passover.)
Then we lit Shabbat candles. I screwed up the melody and somehow ended up singing Kiddush. Hijinks!
(The three people who understood I was singing the wrong blessing got a real crack out of it.)
Not really. But it was fun.
Nothing wrong with falling into Jewish Educator mode!
ReplyDeleteYeah, just surrender to Jewish Educator. Great party! And you can dance at Hanukkah parties, too, if you have a band. (See my facebook page.)
ReplyDelete