Happy Hanukkah, Charlotte!

Mariah and Billy found Charlotte making something. "What are you making, Charlotte?" Billy asked.
"I'm making a dreidel," she said. It's for Hanukkah. It's a kind of top for a game."

"Games are fun," Billy said. "Isn't a top a toy that spins?"
"Yes," Charlotte replied, "But this one is just for decoration. It won't spin, because it's paper."
"I got you a present for Hanukkah," Billy said. "I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will, Billy," Charlotte assured him. "I have a present for Veronika."

"I have a present for Jolena," Mariah said.

For Hanukkah, each of the dolls receives a present each night. Because there are so many dolls, and Hanukkah has eight nights, each doll gives a present to a different one of the others each night. Most of the presents are small things, like special candy or money, but usually each doll receives one big gift. For the last two nights of Hanukkah, the dolls draw names out of a bag. They get presents for the dolls whose names they drew.

Hanukkah, also called The Festival of Lights, is one of Charlotte's special holidays, so the other dolls celebrate with her, because they always share each others religious holidays. Charlotte has a beautiful menorah, a special candlestick with places for nine candles.

It was important for the new dolls to know what the celebration was about, so Charlotte explained it on the first night. Charlotte brought the menorah and placed it on the table, just as it was starting to get dark. All the other dolls gathered around Charlotte.

"Many years ago," Charlotte began, "before dolls like us existed, an evil king took over the temple where people who believe as I do, the Jewish people, held their group prayers and services."
"That was unkind," Jolena said.
"That was mean!" Billy corrected.

"The evil king would not let the people use the temple anymore," Charlotte went on. "This place was very important to the people, because they felt close to God there."

"The king kept them out of their special place," Charlotte continued, "but the people didn't give up. After a lot of struggle, and led by a brave leader named Judah Mac-ca-bee," Charlotte pronounced the name carefully, "they finally took the temple back." 

"When the people had their temple back, they had a special service to make the temple God's again," Charlotte explained. "They lit the special lamps they used in the temple with the little bit of lamp oil they had left. It was only enough for one day, but it was all they had."

"The service must have been very important to them," Mariah said.

"It was, but what do you suppose happened next?" Charlotte asked.

"The lamps went out!" cried Billy.

"No," said Charlotte. "The lamps burned for eight days!" 
"How could that be?" Jolena asked.

"It was a miracle," Charlotte explained. "It was amazing! So once a year, we celebrate this miracle by lighting candles, one new one each night in addition to the ones lit the nights before, using the menorah to hold the candles. There are eight of them, to represent each of the eight nights the oil lasted."

"But there are places for nine candles, Charlotte," Billy pointed out.

"That's because the menorah has a place for the shamus," Charlotte said. "It's the candle we use to light all the others."
Charlotte took a match and lit the candle in the middle.

"Don't we need an adult when we use matches?" Jolena asked.

"That's right, Jolena," said Charlotte, "and we do have an adult. That's the person taking the photos of us. She just carefully removed the matches from the table."

Then Charlotte took the shamus and used it to light the first candle.

"We start on the right side," Charlotte said, "because Hebrew, the language these people spoke, and that we still use in our services, is written from right to left."

"That's different from most languages," Mariah pointed out. "In English, we write from left to right."

The dolls agreed. They knew that. To read their books, they always started at the left.

"After we light the first candle we say a prayer to thank God for the miracle long ago and for God's protection," Charlotte said.

Then Charlotte said some words the other dolls didn't understand. They let the candles burn for a while.

"When do you make a wish and blow out your candles, Charlotte?" Jolena asked.

"It isn't like a birthday cake, Jolena," Charlotte explained. "We have to let the candles burn all the way down, so we will leave the Menorah here, where it's safe."

They sang some songs. Well, Charlotte and Mariah sang, and the other dolls hummed along, because their mouths don't really open.

Then the dolls gave each other their presents.

Billy gave Charlotte some new shoes he had brought with him when he came. They were brand new. Each shoe had a kitty face on it.

"I love the shoes, Billy!" Charlotte exclaimed. "This is a big present. Candy and money are fun, but this is really special!"
"I missed your birthday, Charlotte," Billy said. "I wanted to bring you something really special for Hanukkah."

"Thank you!" cried Charlotte, and she gave Billy a hug.

Mandy gave Billy a LEGO® set and promised to show him how to put it together.

"This is a great present, Mandy," Billy said. "This will be fun to play with."

Charlotte brought out the real dreidel and the dolls played the dreidel game.

Then they pretended to eat a special meal together, because dolls always enjoy pretending to eat.

Each night, the five sisters and the one brother gathered around the menorah to watch Charlotte light that night's candle. Each night they sang, played games, and each doll received a present from one of the other dolls.

At the end of the eight nights, all of the candles were lit. The menorah looked like this.

On the last night, Charlotte turned to Billy and asked, "What do you think Hanukkah is about?"

"I think I know what Hanukkah is about," Billy answered. "I think it's about being grateful for miracles, like that I'm a boy with five wonderful sisters."

"I think it's a miracle that we have a wonderful brother, Billy," Charlotte agreed. "Happy Hanukkah, Billy!"

"Happy Hanukkah, Charlotte!" Billy exclaimed.

Why do we believe different things? That's a question for another day, my young friends.

This story is dedicated to Daphne and Zachary, who are lucky enough to get to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas. Many thanks to their father, David, for providing background material and reviewing the Hanukkah information for accuracy.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kids Vroni

Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen

Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily of London

Charlotte's dreidel is a free download from www.ActivityVillage.co.uk

Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

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Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

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