Eight Winter Nights Read online

  To my aunts and uncles, Selma and Herman Krauss and Edna and Albert Rettig: May your candles burn bright! —L. K. M.

  For Dr. Désiré Amsellem. who was a very dear friend. And many thanks to The Museum of Art and History of Judaism in Paris. —E. S.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Eight Winter Nights

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Getting Ready

  Each year we take eight winter nights

  To kindle our menorah’s lights.

  Tick-tock! Don’t be late!

  We’re getting set to celebrate!

  Polishing the Menorah

  Rub-a-dub up

  Rub-a-dub down

  ‘Til our menorah

  Shines like a crown.

  Colored Candles

  Red as a fire truck, blue as the sky,

  Yellow as wings on a butterfly,

  Green as a grasshopper, pink as a bow,

  Orange as apricots, white as snow.

  Pick the candles you like the best

  To light tonight. We’ll save the rest.

  First Night

  Now the sun has gone away

  And stars are coming out to play—

  It’s time to start our holiday!

  The First Candle

  Outside there’s snowy blow-y weather,

  But here at home we’re snug together—Daddy, Baby, Grandpa, Brother,

  Sister holding hands with Mother—All watching on this special night

  As Grandma sets one flame alight.

  The Ninth Candle

  The shammes candle stands up straight,

  A servant and quite proud of it.

  He always is the first one lit

  And then he lights the other eight.

  Second Night

  We’ll choose two candles,

  Light the menorah,

  Turn up the music

  And dance the hora.

  Hanukkah Rock

  Sway to the music,

  Bounce to the beat,

  Feel the rockin’ rhythm

  In your feet, feet, feet,

  Give a little shimmy,

  Prance a little prance,

  Whirl around and twirl around

  And dance, dance, dance.

  Third Night

  At our window we will show

  How warmly our three candles glow.

  The Storyteller

  The children sit on Grandpa’s knee

  To learn of Judah Maccabee

  And why each year we tell the story

  Of those ancient deeds of glory.

  Fourth Night

  Tonight is a light-four-flames night.

  Tonight is a fun-and-games night.

  Dreidel Game

  I’m a little dreidel,

  Watch me spin,

  Nun, gimel, hey, and shin.

  The way I fall,

  Tells who will win.

  Dreidel Chase

  I had a little dreidel,

  I made it out of clay,

  But Baby grabbed my dreidel,

  And now I cannot play.

  Let’s catch that naughty baby—OOPS! Baby got away!

  Fifth Night

  It’s SO hard to wait

  ‘Til the cousins arrive

  To help light the candles

  On night number five.

  They’re Here!

  BRR-RRING goes the doorbell

  And in rush the cousins—

  Wild ones, noisy ones,

  There must be dozens!

  What a commotion, what a delight

  When cousins come calling this

  Hanukkah night!

  Golden Coins

  Chocolate coins! Hanukkah gelt!

  Munch them fast before they melt!

  Sixth Night

  Sizzling latkes, such a treat,

  With applesauce so cool and sweet,

  Let’s light six candles; then we’ll eat.

  Latkes …

  Latkes in the frying pan,

  Latkes on your plate,

  Latkes for the family,

  Who ate and ate and ate.

  … and Applesauce!

  Applesauce, applesauce on your nose.

  Applesauce, applesauce on your toes.

  Applesauce, applesauce on your thumb.

  Applesauce, applesauce in your tummy-tum-tum.

  Applesauce, applesauce, we like it best.

  Applesauce, applesauce, east to west.

  Applesauce, applesauce, north to south.

  Here comes the applesauce—open your mouth!

  Seventh Night

  Seven candles shining bright

  Send all the world a gift of light.

  Opening Presents

  Sister got a painting set,

  Brother got a model jet,

  Baby got a teddy bear

  And sat it on her potty chair.

  Tzedakah

  We save our coins up in a jar

  To help our neighbors, near and far.

  Eighth Night

  Eight blazing candles stand up tall

  On this, the brightest night of all.

  Though Hanukkah ends now it’s true,

  Next year we‘ll celebrate anew.

  A Lucky Number

  1

  + 2

  + 3

  + 4

  + 5

  + 6

  + 7

  + 8

  Makes 36,

  And here’s the wonder—

  36 is a lucky number!

  Good Night

  The snow is white.

  The stars are bright.

  The family is sleeping tight,

  Wrapped in dreams

  Of candlelight.

  Hanukkah

  About two thousand years ago, the Jewish people were ruled by a cruel foreign king named Antiochus. He would not let them practice their religion and forced them to bow down to statues placed inside their holy temple. Out of fear, many people obeyed. But a small band of fighters led by Judah Maccabee would not give in. They battled Antiochus’s army for three years and finally won. When they reclaimed the temple, they found that the eternal lamp, meant to be kept burning at all times, had gone out. According to tradition, there was only enough special oil to relight the lamp for one day. But the oil burned for eight days and nights, the time needed to prepare more oil.

  Hanukkah celebrates the triumph of freedom and the miracle of the lights. Families light candles in a holder called a menorah, adding a candle for each of the eight nights. Foods fried in oil, such as potato latkes and jelly donuts, are eaten during Hanukkah.

  Hanukkah Traditions

  The menorah is a holder for the eight candles of Hanukkah plus the shammes candle, which sits apart from the other candles and is used to light them. Each night of Hanukkah, another candle is lit, until on the last night there are nine candles burning.

  A dreidel is a spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each of four sides. The letters—shin, hey, gimel, and nun—are the first four letters of the Hebrew words “A Great Miracle Happened Here.” By spinning the dreidel, players win candy or pennies in a game of chance.

  Gelt are coins, real or chocolate, given to children during Hanukkah.

  The hora is an Israeli circle dance based on a folk dance from Romania.

  Latkes are crispy potato pancakes that are traditional Hanukkah treats. Foods fried in oil are often eaten during Hanukkah because oil is such an important part of the holiday’s history. Latkes are usually eaten with applesauce or sour cream.

  Tzedakah is the practice of giving aid, assistance, and/or money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. The Hebre
w word tzedakah actually means righteousness, justice, or fairness. Traditional Jewish homes may keep a tzedakah box for collecting coins. During Hanukkah, since children usually receive gifts, some families perform tzedakah to teach that giving is as important as receiving.

  In Jewish lore, each Hebrew letter is assigned a number. The word chai meaning “life” or “good luck,” has a value of 18; any multiple of 18 is commonly considered a lucky number.

  Text © 2010 by Laura Krauss Melmed.

  Illustrations © 2010 by Elisabeth Schlossberg.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form

  without written permission from the publisher.

  eISBN 978-1-4521-1036-3

  Chronicle Books LLC

  680 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94107

  www.chroniclekids.com

  About the Author

  Laura Krauss Melmedis the beloved author of more than a dozen books, including such perennial favorites as The Rainbabies, I Love You As Much, and another Hanukkah favorite, Moishe's Miracle. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C.

  About the Illustrator

  Elizabeth Schlossberg is the illustrator of several books, including On the Way to Kindergarten, which she "populated [with] and array of adorrable young animals" (Kirkus Reviews). She lives in Paris, France with her three children.

 

 

  Laura Krauss Melmed, Eight Winter Nights

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