Lights, Latkes, Action: Hanukkah in Los Angeles

Hanukkah! No matter how you spell it (Hanukkah, Hannukah or Chanukah), Los Angeles is the perfect place to celebrate it. Children playing in the snow, lighting candles while it's freezing outside, eating hot latkes after freezing their toes and fingers… Well, maybe not in Los Angeles. But you can still have plenty of fun without bundling up this Hanukkah in beautiful
Southern California.

What and How We Celebrate During Hannukah

Hanukkah, the festival of lights, begins this year on December 15, 2006 at sunset and continues until sunset on December 23. During this time, Jewish families light candles every night, eat holiday foods, play traditional games, and give gifts. The candles are lit progressively, with two being lit the first night, and three the second night, and so on, until on the last night nine candles are lit. The candles are placed in a ceremonial candle holder known as a menorah. The menorahs are often beautifully decorated works of art which are passed down for generations.

The most famous of the holiday foods eaten by Jews during Hanukkah are latkes. These are potato pancakes, and they are often served with sour cream and apple sauce. The classic Hanukkah game is called dreidle. In this game, the players spin a four-sided top, and depending on which side the top lands on, they win or lose money, or chocolates, or whatever is being played for. Families gather together, gifts are given, and a good time is had by all. Some families even decorate the Hanukkah Bush with ornaments.

This holiday celebrates the victory of the Jewish rebellion over the Hellenistic rulers of Jerusalem. Jerusalem had been conquered by Alexander the Great, and when his empire was divided after his death, Greek rulers controlled the Jewish land. In 167 BC, after about 150 years of rule by Greeks, Mattathias, a Jewish priest, declared that he would no longer worship the Greek gods, and he and his sons began a revolution. The family hid in the wilderness, where Mattathias died. His son, Judah Macabee, lead the fight then, and continued until he and his brothers had conquered Jerusalem and driven out the Greeks.

After conquering the city, the first priority for the Macabees was to get the sacred temple up and running again. The temple had to be reconsecrated, because the Greeks had used it for practices that the tradition-minded Jews found offensive. After the temple was scrubbed and reconsecrated, the eternal flame had to be relit. The eternal flame had to be lit using sacred olive oil, and there was only a little bit to be found, enough for one day. It took eight days to make more sacred olive oil, so the situation looked dire. But, miracle of miracles, the one day supply of oil lasted eight days, until a new supply could be made. It is for this reason that the holiday lasts eight nights, and that the candles are lit every night.

Celebrating Hannukah at the Skirball Center

To celebrate these events, Los Angeles is full of happenings. One of the biggest is the Hanukkah Family Festival, which will be held at the Skirball Center on December 10. There will be a full day of storytelling, workshops, and performances, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can find out more by calling (310) 440-4500, or by checking their website. The cost is $8 for adults, and children 12 and under, as well as members, are free.

Klezmatics Hannukah Concert at the Disney Concert Hall

A concert by the Klezmatics, called Happy Joyous Hanukkah, will be held on Thursday, December 21, at 8 p.m. at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Klezmatics will demonstrate the incredible breadth of their material at the celebration, playing shtetl melodies, Yiddish labor songs, and even newly discovered Woody Guthrie songs. The Klezmatics are the leading proponents of klezmer music, an expressive secular form of Jewish music which had been played for more than five centuries, and which typically features song titles in Yiddish and melodies which are meant for dancing while holding hands. For more details or to buy tickets, click here.

Hannukah Dinner For Little Ones

And for the little ones, make reservations right away for the December 4, 2006 Hanukkah Party at Creative Kids Happy All Day. There will be a special holiday dinner, with gym time, dinner, dessert, songs, games, and candle lighting, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $12 per person. This is a great opportunity for the whole family to come out and show the tiniest people in the family what the holiday is all about, with food, fun, stories, and songs. Don't wait to reserve for this, because these fill up fast.

Skirball Center

The Skirball Cultural Center is located in the Sepulveda Pass off the 405 Freeway at Skirball Center Drive, 2.5 miles south of the 101 Freeway. (310) 440-4500

Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 850-2000

Creative Kids Happy All Day
11301 W. Olympic Blvd. #110
Los Angeles, Ca 90064
(310)473-6090