The American Spectator

Another Perspective

(Page 2 of 2)

/blockquote> br> Think about it. The winter was left open for us to shape. We looked at it and realized what it needed. It was a void that needed to be filled with fun. The answer was snack foods and new toys, drinking and costumes on Purim and some gambling on Hanukkah. This makes for a very different brand of party. When you call your friends and relatives together at those times, there is a heady flavor, a friendly rowdiness, a giddy buzz, the kind of mood that makes the sleet taste sweet, the snow feel slow and the ice smell nice.

This is a fantastic model for any society. Conduct your heavy, dignified pomps in spring; your airy, prettified romps in winter. The nation that endures the elements to survive adversity is the nation that has earned a rip-roaring obstreperous shebang where rules are meant to be bent. Get into the spirit, folks, the globally warmed American winter may freeze your extremities, but the only solution is to light a little candle and eat some oily junk food in honor of your favorite queen of green.

One last note: a fun American-born tradition has developed over the years at many major universities, most notably MIT and the University of Chicago, where large crowds of students and faculty gather to hear top professors argue the relative merits of the latke vs. the hamentash. It's all about being real and having fun, while celebrating the value of knowledge. Happy Hanukkah!

topics:
Israel, Oil