מאגר סיפורי מורשת

name is Abigail Alper. I am a 5^th grader at Gator Run Elementary School in Weston, FL. My family is my dad, John, my mom, Stacey, and my younger brother, Andrew (he is 8).

I asked my grandmother Regina Green (my mom’s mom) about her memories of Jewish holidays. My grandmother was born in 1948, in New York City. Before she was married her last name was Nass. Her grandmother came to New York from Europe.

For Chanukah all the aunts, uncles and cousins, would come from every borough in NYC to meet at her Grandma’s tiny apartment in Manhattan to eat delicious potato pancakes. All the food was made at home. They used the same latke recipe every year. Grandmother Green still makes those latkes, and grates them by hand!

The family would light candles, sing songs, and played with the dreidle. They usually got 5 cents. Dreidel was the only game they played during Chanukah. It was like gambling. The family lit an extra special chanukiya – one that was brought over from Europe.

Neighbors knew they family was Jewish and celebrated Chanukah instead of Christmas. In NYC you could be open about your religion. Sometimes a non-Jewish neighbor would even join the party!

Grandmother Green said her favorite Jewish holiday was Passover. There were usually 12 family members at the table. The first night Seder was at her grandma’s house and the second night was at her parent’s house. Her favorite thing to eat at the seder was the chicken soup. During the week, her favorite dish was matzoh brie.

A favorite memory from grandmother’s childhood was the year that her grandfather hit the matzoh and they never did find it!