Channukah

Last year, after years of requests from friends, I held my first Channukah party in Prague. As well as it went, I did that again this year in Japan.

There were some notable differences between the two celebrations. First, no beer bottle menorah this time around. That was a particularly Praguian influence on the holiday. My menorah this year was a group of small house candles - not arranged in any particular holder.

However, there was a distinct Japanese flair to this year's celebration. As last year, I made latkes for everyone to enjoy. And after spending most of my time in the kitchen preparing a second batch, I came to find that some of my Japanese guests had felt most comfortable eating latkes the way they eat most other foods, with chopsticks.


Also, after the party had run its course at my apartment, some people were not done with partying, so we went out. In Prague, as in America, when house parties run their course, people occasionally file to a local bar to round out the night. But that's not how it's done here. So if we don't head to a bar, where do we go to extend the party in Japan? Karaoke, of course.


Certainly a Japanese Channukah.