How to play dreidel....

Dreidel is essentially a gambling game. You spin the top and act according to the letter you get. I have found a pretty concise explanation and posted it here. People play with candy, pennies, or other kinds of things of little value. Hannukah gelt is something else they might play with too. That is chocolate money used specifically for Hanukkah.

( The Dreidel Game )

And now for a little history of the dreidel. You know me...it is surprising where this originates given all the myths I have heard. So read on...

( The origins of the dreidel... )

And finally...the Dreidel Song. Who could forget that. It is an annoying little ditty that all of us who went through childhood as Jews and to Hebrew School had to learn and sing. *cringe*

Just giving you the text here. No dreidel post is complete without it.

( The Dreidel Song )

Winter Solstice

There is a lot of winter holiday activity today but I wanted to do a thing for the Winter Solstice. I know many people are into this. I like the fact that it marks the turning of the season. Way cool.



( The technical aspects of Solstice... )

And now on to the parties. Almost every culture has some form of celebration to mark the solstice.

( Solstice celebrations )

Hanukkah post to follow. This was a long factoid but I did not want to leave anything out. Read what you want. The aurora borealis picture is from Getty Images.

Cheers.

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This information is from wikipedia mainly and is spotty or inconsistent in places. The part on Wiccan practices seems inadequate and customs vary widely from group to group or person to person. No offense to anyone's belief's is intended. This is just to give a general idea of what is out there.
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Night Seven

Well it is almost the end, dear readers. I have been having so much fun with this. Tomorrow will be the last night. Here is tonight's picture.