Hanukkah on the Prairie

Yes, there were Jews on the Prairie. Many were lured to the region for the free land through the Homestead Act. Since many European regions forbid jews from owning property, the immigrants saw the chance for advancement and the prestige in owning their own land, even if it was frozen for much of the year. Several settlements sprung up in Minnesota and the Dakotas, but over the span of two generations, the jewish populace migrated to the cities where they have stayed.

More jews followed the synagogues, and there are several with a lengthy history in the Twin Cities. If jews did not live near a synagogue, they kept tradition and culture alive at home.

The hanukiah would be lit, latkes would be fried, and dreidel games would be played during Hanukkah. Instead of the gold gelt that children today use for the dreidel, children would play with rocks or buttons. Hanukkah is a relatively minor holiday, but over time it's received more attention because of its proximity to Christmas. It's hard for little jewish children to understand why Santa visits next door--but not their house. So, parents started giving small gifts for Hanukkah in the 20th century. Like Christmas today, it's become commercialized and celebrated with a diminished understanding of why.

Many homes had a Tzedakah box, which means justice, but is often translated to mean charity. Family members or a community would contribute to the box to bring justice to life in their community. Something like this: It's not fair for my family to have shoes while the family next door doesn't, so I'm going to bring justice to that situation by giving them shoes. It's been recorded that some groups even bought Christmas gifts for poor families--because it wasn't fair for the family not to be able to celebrate their holiday when others are doing so. It's a good idea.

Here's friend Lisa making a great dish--a type of fried jelly doughnut pictured above called sufganiyot. As you might know, all dishes associated with Hanukkah are fried to remember the miracle of oil, except for cheese to remember jewish heroine Judith. I'm sure here in Minnesota they could combine the two with some delicious fried cheese curds.

This house is special to me, because of the interpreter who is normally here. Lynn, who is sometimes known as Molly and here as Miram, knows so much about history and she engages the public so very well. I love listening to her stories, and she's become pretty special to us all. She can cook up a feast on a woodburning stove.

My favorite moment in this house, though, came last December. I routinely got assigned this house for field trips, so I told more than 1500 kids the Hanukkah story. (What do you expect with the last name of Schwartz?) Whenever I had a jewish kid in the house, I let them help tell the Hanukkah story and talk about their customs. When I asked one girl named Greta what she had on her latkes... I expected the typical answer of sour cream or applesauce... instead she said "Guacamole!"

My, how times have changed!