Candles in the Snow

Starting to think about Hanukkah and how I might create a snow tableau. Working with wooden candles, Styrofoam, birch bark basket, frosty fern (a real one), and glitz.

3rd Night of Hanukkah

Happy Hanukkah!

Mendel's Menorah, One More Time

One last shot of Mendel's Menorah with the music described here. If you want to see this full screen, go here and follow the directions below the photo. The naming of this hanukkiyah is explained in the previous post.

Hanukkah, 8th Night, Mendel's Menorah

For the 8th night of Hanukkah, I lit two hanukkiyot -- one for me (see previous post) and this silver-plated one for my Uncle Mendel. Feel better soon, Mendel!

In the video below, I'm back to the Jewish song played by gypsies -- the same one I played on the 7th night of Hanukkah. I'm lovin' this song!

Loading the videos on this posting has been a huge struggle. For more photos and videos, visit my Hanukkah set on Flickr. Perhaps it's just as well -- on Flickr, you can click the icon in the lower righthand corner and the video will fill the entire screen creating a nice effect! Give it a try.

Hanuakkah, 8th Night, Tiny Hanukkiyah

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This hanukkiyah also belonged to my friend Joyce. (See Joyce's other hanukkiyah in yesterday's post.) It holds birthday candles so technically, it's not halachically correct since the candles do not burn long enough (and they probably are not kosher). The experience is short and sweet -- just like Joyce!
The music with the video (below) is the same song as last night, Belz, but this time from Mandy Patinkin's CD, Mamaloshen.

Hanukkah, 7th Night

This hanukkiyah belonged to my friend Joyce and was given to me by her husband after she died. Joyce was a sweet, joyful woman. Tonight, as I watched the candles burn out one-by-one, I thought of all the people who are no longer with us.

Joyce's hanukkiyah is made of some kind of silver-colored metal. It seems that the star is made of something different as it is shinier. All the other parts seem to be made of aluminum but I'm not certain.

The sound on the video (below) is from a CD by Muzsikás, Máramaros -- The Lost Jewish Music of Transylvania. Background information and reviews of the CD can be found on the Amazon link in the previous sentence. (Click on "customer reviews.") They explain how the music on this CD differs from "authentic" klezmer music. Nonetheless, the differing instruments and style create something quite magical.

Muzsikás is a Hungarian band. This CD holds a special place in my heart, in part, because my mother's mother's parents came here from Budapest. The song on the video is entitled Jewish Dance from Szaszregen but those familiar with klezmer standards, will recognize the melody of Belz, a nostalgic tune about the vocalist's hometown of Belz. I love Muzsikás addition of the somber tango rhythm. The liner notes say:

This piece was remembered by Arpad Topni as a favorite of the Jewish community in Szaszregen. According to him, the Jewish dance parties always started with this number. Men and women danced it together, forming a closed circle.The melody of this song belongs to a well known melodic type of Jewish song, variants of which can be found all over Eastern Europe. The model of this piece is the famous Yiddish song "Belz". This Yiddish melody, usually heard in parlando-rubato style, is performed here metrically with Tango-like rhythmic accompaniment.

Turn up the sound, and enjoy!

Here's a link to another song from the Muzsikás CD.

Hanukkah, 6th Night

Tonight is the sixth night of Hanukkah. I have five hanukkiyot. Tonight I used this simple brass one from my childhood. After I lit the red and orange candles, I recognized that the orange roses behind them created a beautiful composition that just needed a bit of tweaking.

Here's a Hanukkah gift for you -- a fun song by Tom Lehrer!