Foto Friday – Hanukkah in Jerusalem

December 11, 2009 - 5:41 PM by Rachel Neiman

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, starts tonight with the lighting of the first candle on the hannukiya – the seven-branched menorah. Jerusalemites have a tradition of lighting oil based hannukiyot encased in glass boxes against the wind. It is a beautiful sight.


© pmos_nmos

Of course, it is more dramatic when lit up at night!


© RomKri


© RomKri

Hanukkah this year fell on a chilly Friday but despite the foreboding clouds it felt like the city was settling into a holiday mood, with young couples taking their babies out for a stroll at the new Mamilla Mall and overwhelming demand for sufganiyot at the Roladin bakery-cafe.

roladin_sufganiyot_box_menuBoth Nicky and David have blogged about the caloric and nutritional disaster that is our local holiday fare, so I will only add that Roladin has, for several years now, taken up the mantle of master sufganiya baker. They’ve created a whole series of so-called gourmet doughnut delights – the “Hanukkah Collection 2009″ – ranging from pistachio and banana to dulce de leche as well as the traditional red mystery jam. They’ve also devised a gaily decorated long square box for easy transport.

This week’s photos of Hanukkah in Jerusalem are courtesy of the wonderful Jerusalem Shots site. I should note that, as I do each time before sitting down to write the holiday column, I tried to figure out the current spelling of the Festival of Lights’ name, this time putting Google on the case with the following results: Hanukkah – 1,920,000 hits; Chanuka – 222,000; Hanuka – 219,000; Hannukah – 141,000 ; Channukah – 129,000; Chanukka – 71,800; Hannuka – 66,100. So, (although it’s not spelled as it was when I was a girl) — Hanukkah wins.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , • Category: Foto Friday, General, Holidays, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 

Comments

One Comment on Foto Friday – Hanukkah in Jerusalem

  1. Mitzimi on Sun, Dec 13th 2009 9:38 AM

    2. Sufganiyot don’t have to be a total nutritional disaster – I posted my baked doughnut recipe here. OK, so they’re not completely dietetic, but they beat the fried version any day and taste great. They actually don’t take that long to make, you can fill them with anything you want, and they’re lots of fun to make with the kids while they’re on vacation. Bete’avon and happy Hannukah!

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