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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5,2005
PATRICK ROSS
PROSS@KANSAN.COM
It's that time of year again Our thoughts turn to our family and friends and the age-old question: What do you get for the person who already has everything?
Most of us are also preparing to return home or to find ways to occupy ourselves during the long winter break.
Within these pages, you'll find ideas for easy, inexpensive gift-giving as well as delicious desserts to take to family holiday dinners.
So enjoy the 2005 Holiday Gift Guide and have a safe and enjoyable break.
Happy Holidays from The University Daily Kansan.
DANI HURST editor@kansan.com KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Dreidels, candles,
When you think of Chanukah, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
"Iisn't that the holiday when all the rich Jewish kids get presents for eight days?" asked Natalie Penn, Topeka freshman. She is surprisingly not alone in her assumptions. It's not insensitivity at work here, though, but rather the larger epidemic of holiday oversimplification.
When most people think of Chanukah, they probably envision dreidels spinning wildly, menorahs aglow with eight tiny candles and mountains of presents wrapped in blue and silver paper waiting to be opened by little Jewish boys and girls.
Granted, these are all facets of the "Festival of Lights," but focusing on these less significant components undermines the very meaning of this fun, yet sacred festival.
Chanukah, according to aish.com, is the Hebrew word for "dedication." The festival of Chanukah celebrates the triumph of the Jews over their would-be
"I isn't that the holiday where all the rich Jewish kids get presents for eight days?"
Natalie Penn
Topeka freshman
opressors against all odds as well as their dedication to their culture and religion.
The story of Chanukah is one passed down from generation to generation and goes a little something like this, as taken from aish.com:
In the 2nd century B.C., the Syrian-Greek government attempted to lead the Jews away from Judaism by outlawing many aspects of their religion. The hope was that the Jews would eventually lose their culture and religion and be integrated into Greek culture.
Some Jews did not resist the change, while others rose up in rebellion against the coercion. One such small and influential group,
the Maccabees, led an uprising against the government for the sake of saving their Jewish heritage.
Antiochus, the leader of the government, tried everything he could to suppress the Jews and their attempts to fight back. He sent thousands of troops to conquer the Maccabees. The troops were unsuccessful, and the Maccabees drove the soldiers back from where they came.
The Jews returned to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after their victory against the foreign troops. Their Holy Temple, which once stood tall and strong, was now a shell that had been destroyed by the foreign troops. They cleaned the Temple and then re-dedicated it. When the time came to light the Menorah, however, there was just enough oil to last one night. The Jews used what little oil they had, expecting it to last a short time, but an extraordinary thing happened. The oil lasted eight full nights — just enough time for the Jews to acquire more holy oil.
And there you have it. This is a very simple re-telling of the story of the Maccabees and the miracle of the oil, but it still highlights what this holiday