Hanukkah: The Jewish Festival of Lights

Hanukkah Celebration
18th Century
~ Anon

Hanukkah begins November 27 and ends on December 5 this year.

~ Hanukkah (also known as Chanukah) is the Jewish Festival of Lights and lasts eight days. The Hebrew word Hanukkah means "dedication.

~ Hanukkah commemorates the Miracle of the Oil.

~ During Hanukkah, people exchange gifts and give to the poor and needy.

~ The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique  nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night.

~ The reason for the Hanukkah lights is not for the "lighting of the house within", but rather for the "illumination of the house without," so that passersby should see it and be reminded of the holiday's miracle

~ After lighting the candles and Ma'oz Tzur, singing other Hanukkah songs is customary in many Jewish homes. 

Information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah .

 

STORIES

Jewish folktales, legends and fairy tales to honor this religious holiday.

The Three Laughs

http://tinyurl.com/yhkcjr4

Loosening the Stopper
http://tinyurl.com/ygjb7vf

The Clotheslines

http://tinyurl.com/yddpue4

Defending His Property

http://tinyurl.com/yze47uq

A Special Gift

http://tinyurl.com/y9efvq4

A Collection of Wisdom – Jewish Folktales

http://www.rodneyohebsion.com/jewish-folktales.htm

Jewish Fairy Tales and  Legends by Gertrude Landa, 1919.  “This book is based on tales from the Talmud and Midrash. While some of the themes are familiar from fairy-tales and folklore from other traditions, the stories in this collection are infused with the perennial Jewish struggle for survival and dignity, as well as a large helping of gentle humor.”

http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/jftl/index.htm

The Golden Mountain by Meyer Levin, 1932. “This is a collection of tales of the Eastern European Hassidic Jews, centering on the holy men Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlaw.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gm/index.htm

Tales From the Past – Midrash and Chassidic stories, fables, parables and more.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/109851/jewish/Tales-from-the-Past.htm
 

BOOKS

Jewish Book Council
http://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/subject-reading-list/jewish-folktales

CRAFTS

A variety of crafts, activities and coloring pages for Hanukkah can be found at these three sites.

DKTK-KIDS
http://www.dltk-kids.com/world/jewish/hanukah.htm

Apples 4 the Teacher
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/hanukkah/kids-crafts/

MSN Living – Additional crafts for the entire family.
http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/raising-kids/10-easy-hanukkah-crafts-to-make-with-kids#1

CURRICULUM

 

 

Education World – Hanukkah Activities Across the Curriculum

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson040.shtml

 

Teacher Vision – Lesson plans, Art,  Music activities and more.

https://www.teachervision.com/hanukkah/teacher-resources/6627.html

SONGS

Hanukkah Songs and Lyrics

http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Hanukkah-Songs-Lyrics.htm 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
History.com -  History of Hanukkah
http://www.history.com/topics/Hanukkah


Folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary sing _Light One Candle__.

 

 

 

 

Karen Chace 2013 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race: Stor e Telling November December 2010

Tortoise and Hare
from Childhood Favorites
and Fairy Tales
1909

I have penned the Stor E Telling column since January of 2002 and the articles from 2002-2006 are the publications page of my website found here http://tinyurl.com/llnn47y . I will be adding the columns from 2007 to 2012 to that page as well. However, I am in the process of checking what link URL's have changed or are now defunct. It is a time consuming process so I am taking the “slow and steady” approach via Aesop and will post the individual columns on my blog for now.

I will not be adding current columns until the following year, so if you want immediate access to the newest websites, consider becoming a member of the National Storytelling Network.

Please feel free to comment on the blog and let me know if you find this useful.

November/December 2010      

Prevent Your Work From Being Stolen – Understand US Copyright Laws.

http://tinyurl.com/23sg399

What to Do When Someone Steals Your Work
http://tinyurl.com/3xmjddx

Diwali, celebrated this year on November 5, is also known as the Festival of Lights. I offer you some story sites from Eastern India to help you celebrate.

Indian Fairy Tales - Twenty-nine tales from Joseph Jacobs.

http://tinyurl.com/6l3956

Hitopadesha Tales - A compilation of short stories following the pattern of prose and verse. 

http://tinyurl.com/24vvn29

Jataka Tales - These fables, written in 300 B.C. were intended to impart values of self-sacrifice, morality, honesty and other values.
http://tinyurl.com/36o6cg3

Panchatantra Tales - A legendary collection of short stories from India composed in the 2nd century B.C. “The purpose behind the composition was to implant moral values and governing skills in the young sons of the king.”
http://tinyurl.com/23hpacy

Stop the Violence Day is November 22, 2010. Here are some sites to use in the classroom and beyond.

Cyberbullying.org – From our friend in Canada, a useful website with related resources. http://www.cyberbullying.org/

Education World - Many sites and resources to use in the classroom and community to help eradicate bullying.

http://tinyurl.com/26r2l48

Seeds of Peace -"A non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to preparing teenagers from areas of conflict with the leadership skills required to promote coexistence and peace. Their outreach program also includes a Conflict Resolution CD Rom which is used in both Israeli and Palestinian schools. They also publish The Olive Branch, an online magazine to further their work in the world.” 

http://www.seedsofpeace.org/

Story-Lovers.com – Jackie Baldwin offers a collection of stories, books, and more to assist you in presenting an anti-bullying program.

http://tinyurl.com/34jazlr

Education World – The site offers a vast number of links on how to deal with bullying. Lesson plans, activities and more.

http://tinyurl.com/26r2l48

Unlocking the Classroom: The Storytelling Project’s Anti-racism Curriculum

“…developed at Barnard and in NYC schools and includes over 30 lessons for high school students that include arts-based storytelling activities to discuss racism.”
http://tinyurl.com/25zwa8r

St. Lucia Day in Sweden is celebrated on December 13. It is also known as The Festival of Lights, representing the triumph of light over the winter darkness. Here are some tales to enjoy as you gather around the fire.

Swedish Fairy Tales and Legends – Fifty six stories to enjoy.
http://tinyurl.com/26qk4jp

The Swedish Fairy Book – Twenty eight fairy tales.
http://www.worldoftales.com/Swedish_folktales.html

Story-lovers.com – You can always count on Jackie Baldwin and her website to have story sources on any subject and Swedish stories are no exception.

http://tinyurl.com/2amnaq9

Christmas Traditions Worldwide – From History.com a vast collection of Christmas traditions, its history with additional information on Christmas carols.

http://tinyurl.com/359sebx

Storybug.net – A collection of Christmas sites I have gathered through the years.

http://tinyurl.com/35qlryj

Origami Resource Center – Step-by-step instructions on how to make a lovely Christmas tree to add to your storytelling or classroom programs.

http://tinyurl.com/3xx5udj

Miscellaneous

 

Since we can never have enough animal stories in our repertoire a free, downloadable book filled with stories from China, Africa, India and more.

Animal Folk Tales – by Anne A. Stanley, published in 1916, now available via Google books.

http://tinyurl.com/36dswh3

 

And if you missed any of the previous “Slow and Steady…” blog posts here are the links to the series so far.

 

2007

January February 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/06/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_30.html
May June 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
July August 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_15.html
September October 2007
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_20.html
November December 2007
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/07/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html

2008

January February 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html
March April 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_11.html
May June 2008
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-may-june-2008.html
Summer 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/08/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_25.html
Fall 2008
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

2009

January February 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_10.html
May June 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_14.html
July August 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_21.html
September October 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/09/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_29.html
November December 2009
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e.html

January February 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_13.html

April May 2010

http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/10/slow-and-steady-wins-race-stor-e_28.html

July August 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/11/slow-and-steady-stor-e-telling-july.html
September October 2010
http://www.karenchace.blogspot.com/2013/11/slow-and-steady-stor-e-telling.html

 

Karen Chace 2013 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.