Have yourself a merry little Hanukkah

Every holiday season, blindingly bright Christmas decorations light the streets to celebrate the birthday of Jesus and alert Santa to the most gift-worthy house. In some houses, only a few candles softly glow, ushering in Hanukkah.

"Hanukkah is the festival of lights," said Scott Sherman, a practicing Jew. "It sometimes falls around this holiday that they call Christmas."

The story of Hanukkah is used to tell the history of the war between the Persians and the Jews, the resulting victory of the Jews and the miracle that followed soon after.

"The miracle is that a supply of oil for a lamp that is supposed to be burning at all times was found. There was only enough for one day, but it lasted for eight days," Sherman said. "So that's why we have eight days of Hanukkah. And the candles are lit from right to left, since that's the way the language is read."

Since most Christians know about Hanukkah, the belief usually follows that it must be an important holiday, otherwise why would everyone know about it? Bill Fisher, a 21-year-old UNC Asheville student, laughs at the idea.

"You know what's funny about Hanukkah? To Jewish people, it's not a big deal. Their like, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, Christmas. I guess we have Hanukkah. You know what's the big deal? Yom Kippur, that's the big deal. Shut up, Hanukkah," he yelled, grinning widely.

Sherman compared Hanukkah to more of a July 4th holiday.

"Yes, it is historically significant, but not really religiously significant outside of the miracle," Sherman said.

Hanukkah draws a great deal of attention in the mainstream despite its lack of religious importance to Jews. One attempt to make the holiday more mainstream came about with the invention of the Hanukkah bush, also known as a Jewish Christmas tree.

Another attempt showed up with Jon Lovitz portrayal of Hanukkah Harry, a fictional response to Santa, on Saturday Night Live. Sherman said he would never accept either of these things, especially the Hanukkah bush.

"I make sure everybody can see my hanukkiah and I share my chocolate, and by golly I teach people to play dreidel. But if you ever see a happy Hanukkah bush outside my house, you know someone is holding a gun to my head," Sherman said. "It will never happen. Also, Hanukkah Harry didn't exist. Jon Lovitz, funny man. Hanukkah Harry, stupid character."

A more accepted attempt to explain Hanukkah is the Rugrats Hanukkah special, which airs on Nickelodeon every year. David Howard, a son of a preacher, said he blames the Rugrats for his interest in Hanukkah.

"I felt that before there were Christians, there were Jews. If it was a big deal for the religion before us, then why shouldn't it be a big deal for the religion based upon this religion?" Howard said.

After carving his own hanukkiah, the candelabra used during the holiday, Howard continues with a grin to explain his mishaps, as well as odd attempts to celebrate Hanukkah with no Jewish influence to guide him.

"My first time I used oil, but that didn't work since it spilled a lot. The funniest memory though is - well, for Lent, we light a candle each Sunday and sing this song called, 'Light One Candle to Watch for Messiah.' So I would sing that as I lit the hanukkiah, like, I'm going to mesh you two things, and there's not a thing you can do about it," he said laughing.

Howard says he grew out of celebrating, but he would start celebrating again if he can find more people to celebrate with, since previous attempts to include others yielded less than desirable results.

"I used to try and get my friends to play dreidel with me. They didn't understand so I had to keep explaining it to them. At one point, I tried to find one with numbers so they could understand it," Howard said, shaking his head slightly. "I did use the chocolate coins though. Kept it real, you know."

At the time of Hanukkah, Jews play a game called dreidel with a top of the same name.

On each of the dreidel's four sides, there are Hebrew letters, one for each side. The letters are an acronym for "nes gadol haya sham," which translates to "a great miracle happened there," refering to the miracle of Hanukkah, according to Sherman.

"It's pretty much gambling for kids. Depending on what it lands on, the child will be able to take all the pennies or candy they are playing with," Sherman said.

Sherman said the top also has historical importance, and the Jews used it as a learning tool when they were forbidden to teach their children about their heritage.

Like most Jewish holidays, Hanukkah has its own special food which accompanies the story.

Sherman said one ingrediant dominates during Hanukkah.

"Oil, anything you can boil in oil. That's the tradition. We are a fat, fat people. My grandfather used to say that if the Germans don't get us, our cooking will," Sherman said. "But seriously, latkas rock. They are best served with sour cream and applesauce. And sufganiyot. My girlfriend has an awesome sufganiyot recipe. Those are jelly doughnuts for those who don't speak Hebrew."

Sam Tocman, a UNCA alumnus, said Hanukkah trumps Christmas.

"It teaches us about patience. Instead of getting a lump thing, we have to spread it over eight days. So you have eight days of anticipation instead of just one," Tocman said.

Fisher, a non-Jewish student, agreed with Tocman.

"You know which colors are better than red and green? Blue and white. Everyone likes those colors. They're even Bulldog colors. Really, the whole school should be celebrating Hanukkah," Fisher said.

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