Hanukkah article sparks sweet memories

To the editor:
    Thank you for your lovely article about Hanukkah: A Festival of Lights (Dec. 8, 2010).
    When I was a little girl, in the 1930s and ‘40s, growing up in Chicago, Hanukkah was a very special occasion for me. In the dark winter evenings of winter, the beautiful little candles cast a warm glow in our kitchen, as my three siblings and I, and my mother and father sang the Hebrew blessing: “Baruch atah Adonai …L’hadlik ner …”
    My Dad would grate a huge bowl of potatoes and then my mom would fry a never-ending batch of “latkes” (potato pancakes), which we topped with applesauce or sour cream.
    Each night, for eight nights, we children would receive a small gift. Sometimes it would be 10 shiny new pennies, which my parents called “gelt” (gold) or perhaps a little book.
    One gift I still remember was a handkerchief, bordered in lace and embroidered with little flowers.
    It was a simple time, long gone, but the sweet memories remain forever.
Carol Whited
Houlton