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Here's the story, as I can remember it:
Under the Greek rule of Antiochus IV, Jews were forbidden from practicing their religion. Jewish temples were desecrated; symbols important to Greek polytheism were hung over the altars; and those who stood in vocal opposition to the Greeks, like the Maccabee clan, were persecuted and attacked, their temples nearly destroyed.
With the temple nearly destroyed, there was only enough consecrated olive oil remaining to light the eternal flame for one day. But miracle of miracles (to quote Fiddler on the Roof), the oil burned for eight – exactly the length of time it takes to produce more oil for the light. And now every year, sometimes close to Christmas (but that's a different story), Jews around the world join with their families and loved ones to celebrate the miracle of Chanukah.
But why is this in a food post?
Well, tonight marks the first night of Chanukah. And because the holiday is one that literally centers around burning oil, Jews everywhere celebrate by putting their diets aside and eating what might be considered Dr. Atkins' worst nightmare (were he still alive): potato pancakes fried in oil, known to the Chosen People as latkes.
I'm not going to give you a recipe for latkes, although they might possibly be one of my favorite foods in the world. I'm supposed to be dieting right now, but just thinking about them makes me want to say fuck-all and gain thirty pounds.
What I am going to do, instead, is encourage you to be careful if you're indulging in Festival-of-Light-fried foods. We've all heard the evils of trans fats, and we've all probably eaten far more of them than we should. I don't really have an opinion on the wide-spread banning of them, but as in all things, I encourage moderation if you're going to go out and eat at Jack in the Box.
However, as mentioned in the story above, the sacred oil of Chanukah is olive oil, and if you want to be really authentic to the miracle while still indulging in some fried foods, you might want to try using it, rather than oils containing trans or saturated fats. In the end, it won't taste all that different, and you'll feel better in the morning. (Yeah, you know exactly what I mean.)
Image Credit: Flickr user mamamusings
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I had my first latke last year at Chanukah, and I do not know how I lived a full and happy life before then.