Happy Chanukah - The Dreidel Game

This post was originally published on BlogHer in December 2009.

When it’s time to take out the Christmas decorations, our kids love digging out our dreidel collection to play with.  Dreidels and Christmas?  In our multi-cultural household, it is perfectly natural and normal.



In our family, we don't officially practice any organized religion, but we do take the traditions that we were brought up with and incorporate them into family traditions. In December, we decorate our house for Christmas, set out cookies for Santa, light candles in a menorah for Chanukah and eat potato latkes.  And we sing The Dreidel song and play the dreidel game. 

Everyone has seen the four-sided top, but what do those Hebrew symbols mean?  Here’s a crash course.

Each side of the driedel has a Hebrew letter – nun, gimel, hey or shin – on it.  The letters stand for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham, which means “A Great Miracle Happened There”.

The dreidel game is typically played with gelt, which are foil-wrapped chocolate coins.  You can also use pennies, M&Ms or any other treat.  To start, the gelt is split evenly amongst the players and each player puts one into a center pile.

After spinning the dreidel, the letter facing up determines what happens:

• If Nun (נ) is facing up, you take nothing.
• If Gimel (ג) is facing up, you take the whole pile.
• If Hey (ה) is facing up, you take half the pile.
• If Shin (ש) is facing up, you put one piece into the pile.

If the pile is empty, or has only one piece, each player puts one piece into the pile before the next spin.  You play until one player wins everything.

In case you think this is just a kid’s game, there is Major League Dreidel, where competitors compete for the longest spin.  This year’s event is on December 9, 2010.

And while you’re playing, don’t forget to sing the dreidel song:

I have a little dreidel.
I made it out of clay.
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play.

Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play.

If you really want to go overboard, you can get this diamond-studded dreidel for $1800.
 
From Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Geneology Blog.

If not, now you'll know how to play the dreidel game if you are given one from a Jewish friend.  Hope you get Gimel!  Happy Chanukah!

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Happy Blue Moon

Camera Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 300 mm
ISO Speed 200

A blue moon refers to the third full moon in a season with four full moons.

Recent popular usage defines a blue moon as the second full moon in a calendar month, but that can happen more than once a year, and not every two to three years like this blue moon on November 21, 2010.  The next blue moon will occur on August 21, 2013.

What a beautiful sight it was rising over our house!



Being outside on this chilly evening allowed me to photograph our Halloween lights before they are exchanged for holiday lights next week.



Here's what they look like from the inside.



Watch out for the ghosts...



...and the eyeballs!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

We went to see the much awaited Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 this weekend. Having just read book seven within the past year, I was wondering how they would make this book into a movie.  The first half of the book is full of quiet moments of uncertainty where Harry, Ron and Hermione felt they had no idea what they were doing.  And that exactly what is portrayed in the movie.  The action scenes did not disappoint either with fast-moving magic and effects.  Adam said it was simply "awesome".

Adam and I sat next to each other during the movie and we kept whispering to each other what was coming next.  This was actually the first of the Harry Potter movies that we've seen in the movie theaters.  Previously, I felt that it would be too intense for the kids, although we've seen them all on DVD.  During the movie, I got a little concerned if six-year-old Dova was getting too frightened, but she said it was fine afterward.  Then again, this girl is completely fearless.

*** Spoiler alert past this point! ***

This was the second Harry Potter movie that Adam and I have watched where we have read the books beforehand.  In some ways, this ruins how the plot unfolds, but in other ways, it adds to the anticipation when a bad scene is coming up.  In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince I was disappointed in the scene where they find the locket horcrux.  The book clearly says that the basin is filled with a green potion, yet in the movie, the scene is shot in black and white and the liquid is clear.  They could have at least colorized the liquid green and kept the rest of the scene black and white.  It would have added to the magical effect of the potion. At least that's how I would have done it.


The Deathly Hallows Part 1 had only one disappointing deviation from the book where Harry failed to take Mad-Eye Moody's eye back from Dolores Umbridge's door.  The eye was shown spinning around in the door, but we didn't get to witness Harry's misjudgment in taking it. Otherwise, the movie was remarkably true to the book.

Doug and Dova, who haven't read the books, felt a bit confused about role of Xenophilius Lovegood during the movie.  Since he looked quite different from the wedding scene to the scene at his house, they didn't realize that he was desperate because the Death Eaters took his daughter Luna.  Doug also missed seeing Hogwarts, which we know is coming in Part 2.

The movie covered about 3/4 of the book and ends at the beginning of Shell Cottage, at page 502 of 672 pages. Part 2 will have to spread out the last quarter of the book.  The revelations will be bittersweet and we all can't wait to return to Hogwarts for the last time.

See these links for the contest and quiz on Asian Symbolism in Harry Potter and answers.

The Hills are Alive!

The Sound of Music (45th Anniversary Edition) (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

When I was a child, my favorite movie was The Sound of Music.  I loved the songs, the story, and the children, especially being an only child.  I loved everything about the movie.  I looked forward to seeing it every year on TV, except my parents would never let me stay up and watch the end.  As an adult, the movie is a bit saccharine and it's been on my list to buy, but I hadn't gotten around to it.

On the way to violin lessons last month, Adam and Dova wanted to hear the Do-Re-Mi song.  I immediately pulled up the The Sound of Music soundtrack on my iPod and we started to sing along.  And then I played them all the good kid tunes from the soundtrack, My Favorite Things, The Lonely Goatherd, and So Long, Farewell.  Every ride to violin lessons was accented by yodeling and belting out of high notes (especially by Adam).  It was a musical lover’s dream.  Thankfully, Adam and Dova are still at an age where there is still magic in these songs and not everything is spoiled.

To add to the magic, since Dova was a baby, I have sung her a “Dova Bea” song based on the melody to Edelweiss.  And we also  have a cuckoo clock that plays Edelweiss.  So to her, this is a magical song that our whole family revolves around. The song is also magical to Austrians everywhere, even though it never existed before Rodgers  and Hammerstein wrote it for the movie.  This musical duo is simply one of the best of all time.

When the Blu-Ray edition was released earlier this month, I knew it was time to get the movie.  The kids knew all the songs by heart, and I knew the high definition digital restoration would be stunning.  And it was simply glorious to watch as a family.  My eyes were popping out just from the opening sequence in the mountains.  The detail of the trees and the sparkle of the water was spectacular.  And when Julie Andrews came into view through the crispy clear blades of grass, I got chills down my spine.  Even by today’s standards, the cinematography in this movie is still first class.  Later, the color and texture of the fabrics were brilliantly rendered.  After watching the video restoration featurette, you can see that things like the white balance correction makes this version the best version of The Sound of Music that anyone has ever seen.

There were parts of the story that I had forgotten, thanks to editing from the network TV versions.  The Edelweiss duet between the Captain (sung by Bill Lee) and Liesl (Charmian Carr) was very charming.  This version of the song doesn’t appear on any of the soundtracks except on the 40th Anniversary Special Edition with extra tracks, so I’ll have to add this soundtrack to my collection as well.

The Sound of Music (1965 Film Soundtrack - 40th Anniversary Special Edition)

I’ve also soaked up the extras on the Blu-Ray edition.  There is a wonderful sing-along where I’ve finally learned all the words to I Have Confidence ("Strength doesn't lie in numbers", not "Strength the lion numbers"!).  Each song has a featurette, and there is even a clip of Christopher Plummer singing Edelweiss before Bill Lee was dubbed over.  The musical numbers take up a full 58 minutes of the nearly 3 hour film, and it is wonderful to have them all back to back to watch.  The kids were mesmerized by these old school music videos.  It was also cool to have the original intermission with the entr'acte music intact.

I was disappointed when I learned that I missed the special Oprah show where the cast of The Sound of Music reunited. Still, there are enough video tidbits to make a visit to this site worthwhile. The video of the Von Trapp great-grandchilden singing Edelweiss is moving and beautiful and the behind the scenes video and trivia photo montage are priceless.

If you’re looking for a great family movie for this holiday season, I can’t recommend this Blu-Ray edition of The Sound of Music enough.  Layee-o-dl layee-o-dl lay-ee-o!

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Cat, Cauldron and Jack-O-Lanterns

This year, Dova chose to be a black cat for Halloween. Which thankfully meant choosing a black outfit that she could reuse as everyday clothes instead of buying a costume or *heaven forbid* making another costume.  I had to talk her into the boots at first, but now they are her favorite accessory to wear with her skinny black jeans.  Way to fashionable for a six-year-old...





This year, I fell ill before carving my yearly jack-o-lantern (see 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006), but we did attend the ultimate Halloween party, with count them, SEVEN, jack-o-lanterns. With that many expertly carved jack-o-lanterns from one family, no one can call me an overacheiver.






But the highlight of this party is the ghost chili, cooked in a cauldron hanging over a fire pit.  I first experienced this awesome cauldron chili last year, but this year, I actually went home in the middle of the party so I could retrieve my camera.  It is a most awesome experience, with the warmth of the crackling fire, and the aroma of the smoke and chili.







Mmm, delicious.  Hope you all had a great Halloween!