Hanukkuh almost over

I had intended to mark the midpoint of Hanukkah, also know as the Festival of Lights, yesterday by preparing potato latkes as game food, but events conspired, as they say. I might still do post-holiday latkes next week. I'm not a member of the tribe, but I know good food when I taste it. Latkes are really good.

However, I do want to give a hat-tip to Eff You's Jewish contingent, so even thought I'm a little late to the party, Happy Hannukuh! The holiday, a minor one until the 1970s, dates to the second century BC and the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. Apparently, the emperor Antiochus outlawed Judaism and pretty much defiled the temple, leading to the eventually successful Maccabean Revolt, which retook the Temple.

The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event.[25] Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, unadulterated and undefiled pure olive oil with the seal of the kohen gadol (high priest) was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that one flask was found with only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

So bust out the dreidel, sing "The Dreidel Song," and light up this velocimenorahraptor:

Hat tip to Ace for the velocimenorahraptor photo.