I just wanted to wish all those who celebrate Hanukkah a happy one. May you enjoy yourself over the next few days.
It is about sunset here in eastern North Carolina. May your Chanukkah be Blessed and Merry! ...from a follower of an observant Jew. S&F
BTW, anyone who wants to send Latkes to me, will get a free FMH mug. I could really go for some right now.
If I had some myself I would, but I haven't made any.....yet! Happy Hanukkah! (BTW- how does one get a paid for FMH mug?)
Send me some Latkes BTW, I've seen it spelled both Hanukkah and Chanukka. To me, it seems both are correct. Is one more modern then the other? Also, after a successful visit to Texas, I may be looking through my "inventory" and getting rid of it. I may have a few extra mugs.
If I recall correctly, the CH is from the Hebrew pronunciation and the H is American English. I bet Winter's response will be more accurate than mine.
Happy Hanukkah..... As to the spelling...I saw a Rabbi on TV this morning and the reason for the varied spellings is because there is no letter that gives the proper sound in the correct pronunciation...
Thank you for the Chanukah wishes. As for the spelling.... Hebrew, as a semetic language, has no vowels and when a word is transliterated into English there is a great deal of leeway as long as the sound is preserved. (There is a specific name for this but I won't bore you) And yes, the "Ch" spelling is an attempt to be truer to the actual spelling/pronunciation of the word in Hebrew since it begins with the Hebrew letter Chet. This sound is not found in English and this leads to the confusion. The letter CHET is equal to the number eight and is referred to as the letter of Life. (Chai = Life, L'Chaim = To life, etc...) The number eight signifies the eight days of the festival of Chanukah (Festival of Lights). The number eight also alludes to the eighth day of a Jewish baby boy’s life, when the ritual of circumcision (Brit Milah) takes place. The word CHET also means ‘sin’ as well as ‘life’. So all of the MANY spellings are correct. (Hanukkah, Chanukah, Chanukkah, or Chanuka) Hope this helped.
