Tag #106384 - Interview #88489 (Chaim Henryk Ejnesman )

For Chanukkah we’d always get gifts, it was called Chanukkah gelt, from my uncle. He’d always give something to everyone. One zloty or two. But he’d give something to every child. My uncle had no children of his own. This was the uncle who had the bookstore – Icek. We’d go and visit him and he’d give us money, or cakes or something. He could afford it. He was well off. We’d keep this money for candy. Or we’d play the spinning top, the dreidel. Poles used to make these dreidels and sell them. There was this special village where they made them, somewhere on the way to Mniow [a town between Radoszyce and Kielce]. And we’d always buy dreidels there. I remember all this well. And there was a special meal for Chanukkah, I forget what it’s called… Latkes! Yes, potato pancakes. They’d be salty or sweet, different in each town. Ours were sweet, fried in oil. A little sugar would be put on top. In Lwow [today Ukraine], I know, they’d put onions on the latkes. In Radoszyce they were sweet. And we wouldn’t add any sour cream. My mother also baked all kinds of cakes. I remember carrot cake and apple cake, apple pie, I remember this, too. We’d light candles. Every day, starting on the first day. That’s how it was at our house.