By Julia Trost, staff writer
This year, Hanukkah arrived much earlier than expected, beginning on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 28, and ending December 4. Lasting eight days, Hanukkah represents a time when students can gather with their families to light the menorah, eat classic foods such as latkes and jelly donuts, and play dreidel.
“Hanukkah” means dedication and celebrates a heartwarming miracle. When the Maccabees, or leaders of the Jewish resistance movement, entered the Temple and attempted to reclaim it from the Greeks, they only had a day’s worth of oil to light the menorah’s candles. However, the oil lasted them eight days, keeping the menorah’s candles flickering until they were able to locate more.
The eight days of Hanukkah represent each day that the Maccabees’ hopes stayed alive, inspiring Jewish citizens today to fuel the flames created by their ancestors by passing on their culture and traditions to the next generation. Family is a common thread among students at River Hill, who celebrated Hanukkah with their families after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their plans last year.
Hallie Goldstein, a sophomore, exclaimed, “In my opinion, Hanukkah is the most wonderful eight days and I love celebrating it with my family every year. Every night of Hanukkah, my Mom, my Dad, my brother, and I crowd around the menorah to say the prayers, and shortly after my brother and I open our presents. On one of the nights, we got to celebrate Hanukkah with my cousins and grandparents, which made this joyous holiday extra special.”
Sidney Carlson, a senior, remarked, “It was nice because I had my family over for the first night and it was great to celebrate in a normal environment instead of last year when we couldn’t celebrate together. We had the traditional food, like latkes.”
From Hanukkah to Christmas to Kwanza, all holidays during this festive winter season deserve recognition. Clubs are finding ways to promote celebrating the holidays as a community, focusing on creating a welcoming environment for all and diversifying their activities.
Vishva Iyer, President of Best Buddies, explained, “This month’s theme is cookie decorating and holiday. We are trying to keep it as secular and inclusive as possible so we are watching non-religious movies like Frosty the Snowman. In our playlist, we are including Hannukah songs and Christmas songs. I think it’s really important to make everyone feel welcome especially under the umbrella of inclusivity that Best Buddies champions.”
In the past, River Hill had its own Jewish Union, where students could gather to make new friends, celebrate Hanukkah, and even make traditional Jewish food such as challah bread.
Hallie believes that a reinstatement of the Jewish Union would be a great addition to the variety of clubs that River Hill boasts.
“One of the things I would love to see implemented here at River Hill is a Jewish Student Union. If we are able to find a sponsor, I hope that we can take the steps to establish this so we can bring together our River Hill Jewish community.”