Merry Hanukkah!

By: Emily Oshinskie '14

Life has been quite festive these past couple of days. From the purple and gold Christmas trees to the countless strings of lights I’ve seen hanging in the windows of dorm rooms, everyone is getting into the spirit! But let’s not forget that this season is not just meant for Santa and Rudolph, this time of year is also meant for menorahs and driedels. I was sitting in my friends’ room the other night and she and her roommate started talking about their Hanukkah traditions, and before I knew it they pulled out an electric light-up menorah. Don’t worry, no open flames! As seen in lovely picture below (please ignore the Ziploc bags and the peanut butter! We’re college students, and those are the essentials!):

They saw all these Christmas decorations and felt EC needed a little culture and Jewish history, so the last 7 nights have been committed to honoring the miracle of the oil that lasted in the temple for 8 days. After lighting the first candle, we ventured over to the campus center for the Hillel Hanukkah party. The air was filled with the smells of potato latkes and jelly donuts, which we quickly devoured. Then it was time for a game of driedel-with purple and yellow driedels of course! The first night of Hanukkah brought 8 people to sing and light the first candle. Then my friend sent a mass of text messages, and before she knew it there were 17 people in her room for the second night of Hanukkah! You can tell we made very good use of space!

See crowded room below: Tonight we are lighting the eighth candle, concluding the holiday. However, I don’t think my friends will take the menorah out of their window. This is the start of a tradition that I’m sure we will continue throughout our years at Elmira. If you’re ever interested in celebrating Hanukkah on campus, I’m sure you will be able to find us. Don’t worry, we sing loudly-you’ll hear us from all the way down the hall!