This is the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah
The Latest
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Culture How Jewish is Hallmark’s ‘Eight Gifts of Hanukkah’?
I have a confession to make: I just enjoyed a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Or, all right; I’ll qualify that: It was “Eight Gifts of Hanukkah” — the one outlier in Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” series (re-airing Dec. 12, 10 a.m. Eastern). And one reason I liked it is I view the channel in a…
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Culture Kwanzakkah celebrates power of dual identities, overcoming oppressions
For Carol Valoris, the holiday season used to evoke mixed feelings. As a white Jewish mother of two Black Jewish daughters, she described seeing her family zigzagging between Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. No matter which holiday the family was observing, she said, someone was always left out. “It always felt a little bittersweet,” said Valoris, 75,…
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Opinion Hanukkah gnomes have exploded in popularity, despite deeply antisemitic origins
If you are a Jew living in the United States, you’re likely aware of Hanukkah’s slow creep toward becoming Jewish Christmas. There is Shmelf the Hanukkah Elf, ugly sweater sugar cookies, and Wayfair Santas wrapped in prayer shawls. This year, however, the latest Chrismukkah riff is … a Hanukkah gnome. Hanukkah gnomes are cute, and…
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Culture Finally, we can move on from ‘Dreidel Dreidel’ — a true Hanukkah bop has dropped
In the past few weeks, I’ve written about everything wrong with Hanukkah today — kitschy merchandise, Christmasification, the Maccabees. So as we approach the end of the eight nights, I wanted to finish on a sweeter note: a pop anthem made for the holiday that, in my humble opinion, does everything right. “Hanukkah” comes from…
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Yiddish World VIDEO: Pumpkin donuts, lighter latkes and drinks to go with them
The donuts are made with vitamin-packed pureed pumpkin and the latkes are lo-carb, yet tasty and crunchy
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News Pandemic Hanukkah at Biden’s White House feels like a family gathering
Absent were the bands and choir performing traditional holiday songs. Notably missing, too, were the signature lamb-chop trays and assorted latkes. And in the pandemic-limited crowd of 150, dotted with yarmulkes with the presidential seal, a lone member of the Hasidic community of Borough Park, Brooklyn — a community that voted in large numbers for…
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Fast Forward Philadelphia mayor, criticized for hosting pro-Palestinian rally, addresses event to counter antisemitism
A day after hosting a rally that marked the United Nations’ day of solidarity with Palestinians, an event at which organizers called for Palestinians’ right of return to Israel, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney defended his participation in the event and, in an address to Jewish leaders, called out hate generally. “When we see any form…
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Culture Hanukkah today would make the Maccabees roll over in their graves
Corporations — and plenty of everyday people — treat Hanukkah as Jewish Christmas. It has a nice little story about miraculous oil, plus you decorate your house and give gifts. Even plenty of Jews feel this way; Hanukkah provides a way for us to participate in the music, media and cheer that dominates the Christmas…
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