Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days, usually in December. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the lighting of candles on each day of the eight days.
For many people, Hanukkah is an introduction to the notion of Jewish holidays – whether it’s Jewish people themselves, learning at home or in school, or adults from other traditions and faiths seeing menorahs in windows and dreidels on TV.
So we’re not just celebrating Hanukkah at the Yonkers Public Library; we’re celebrating American Jewish culture year-round, and the lessons of endurance, patience and hope that let a single night’s lamp oil do the work of eight nights’ worth.
So in honor of this holiday, consider checking out guides to cooking and entertaining on Jewish holidays, or children’s books to explain Hanukkah. Sing something traditional, or just listen along with classics like Woody Guthrie or Leonard Cohen; check out movies like Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights, biblical dramas like The Book of Esther, or watch range far afield to Jewish horror film The Vigil.
Explore Jewish identity in books like Rebecca Walker’s Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self, American Jewish Thought Since 1934, or Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People – to find out what Jewishness even means! And if you’re interested in exploring Jewish culture, history and genealogy in your own life, take a look at the Encyclopedia Judaica, or Finding our Fathers: a Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, and peruse our local history resources (like our newspaper archives and genealogical classes).
Chag sameach – we wish you a happy Hanukkah, and a life that lasts longer, and contains more happiness, than you might ever have imagined!
Diane Mignault is a librarian with the Riverfront branch.