PBS’ A Celebration of Hanukkah
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In this heartwarming, nostalgic, and humorous program, WTTW’s Geoffrey Baer takes viewers on a fun exploration of the traditions of this joyous Jewish holiday as he shares the story of how it came to be, the significance of the season’s cherished foods and fun, and how families continue to celebrate together across generations.
https://www.wttw.com/celebration-of-hanukkah/watch
Not a comprehensive study, rather just a sweet look at this holiday and perhaps something to offset, if just for a moment, the heavy news we’ve been seeing during this year’s Hanukkah. Definitely Chicago-centric; it was produced by Chicago’s PBS station WTTW.
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I loved Hanukkah as a child. The presents I found were the traditional ones (draidals, chocolate money, etc.) and ones based on a theme (paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, etc.). It's clear to me looking back on it now that they were chosen by my favorite aunt who was assigned the role at birth as the standard bearer of the faith. Also, did you know the menorah was the ancient symbol of Judaism? The "star of David" as we know it wasn't at all unique to Judaism. It became its most recognizable symbol much more recently. I loved lighting the candles for Hanukkah and on the anniversaries of the deaths of the ancestors. I still think it's a beautiful tradition.
