Eight Winter Nights

To my aunts and uncles, Selma and Herman Krauss and Edna and Albert Rettig: May your candles burn bright! —L. K. M.

For Dr. Désiré Amsellem. who was a very dear friend. And many thanks to The Museum of Art and History of Judaism in Paris. —E. S.

Dedication

Eight Winter Nights

Copyright

About the Author

Each year we take eight winter nights
To kindle our menorah’s lights.
Tick-tock! Don’t be late!
We’re getting set to celebrate!

Rub-a-dub up
Rub-a-dub down
‘Til our menorah
Shines like a crown.

Red as a fire truck, blue as the sky,
Yellow as wings on a butterfly,
Green as a grasshopper, pink as a bow,
Orange as apricots, white as snow.
Pick the candles you like the best
To light tonight. We’ll save the rest.

Now the sun has gone away
And stars are coming out to play—
It’s time to start our holiday!

Outside there’s snowy blow-y weather,
But here at home we’re snug together—Daddy, Baby, Grandpa, Brother,
Sister holding hands with Mother—All watching on this special night
As Grandma sets one flame alight.

The shammes candle stands up straight,
A servant and quite proud of it.
He always is the first one lit
And then he lights the other eight.

We’ll choose two candles,
Light the menorah,
Turn up the music
And dance the hora.

Sway to the music,
Bounce to the beat,
Feel the rockin’ rhythm
In your feet, feet, feet,
Give a little shimmy,
Prance a little prance,
Whirl around and twirl around
And dance, dance, dance.

At our window we will show
How warmly our three candles glow.

The children sit on Grandpa’s knee
To learn of Judah Maccabee
And why each year we tell the story
Of those ancient deeds of glory.

Tonight is a light-four-flames night.
Tonight is a fun-and-games night.

I’m a little dreidel,
Watch me spin,
Nun, gimel, hey, and shin.
The way I fall,
Tells who will win.

I had a little dreidel,
I made it out of clay,
But Baby grabbed my dreidel,
And now I cannot play.
Let’s catch that naughty baby—OOPS! Baby got away!

It’s SO hard to wait
‘Til the cousins arrive
To help light the candles
On night number five.

BRR-RRING goes the doorbell
And in rush the cousins—
Wild ones, noisy ones,
There must be dozens!
What a commotion, what a delight
When cousins come calling this
Hanukkah night!

Chocolate coins! Hanukkah gelt!
Munch them fast before they melt!

Sizzling latkes, such a treat,
With applesauce so cool and sweet,
Let’s light six candles; then we’ll eat.

Latkes in the frying pan,
Latkes on your plate,
Latkes for the family,
Who ate and ate and ate.

Applesauce, applesauce on your nose.
Applesauce, applesauce on your toes.
Applesauce, applesauce on your thumb.
Applesauce, applesauce in your tummy-tum-tum.
Applesauce, applesauce, we like it best.
Applesauce, applesauce, east to west.
Applesauce, applesauce, north to south.
Here comes the applesauce—open your mouth!

Seven candles shining bright
Send all the world a gift of light.

Sister got a painting set,
Brother got a model jet,
Baby got a teddy bear
And sat it on her potty chair.

We save our coins up in a jar
To help our neighbors, near and far.

Eight blazing candles stand up tall
On this, the brightest night of all.
Though Hanukkah ends now it’s true,
Next year we‘ll celebrate anew.

   1
+ 2
+ 3
+ 4
+ 5
+ 6
+ 7
+ 8
Makes 36,
And here’s the wonder—
36 is a lucky number!