All about Chanukah, only after the fact

This past Chanukah was a very different experience.
My daughter, now 4 3/4 years old, is better able to grasp the meaning of Chanukah, the beauty of the miracle and the significance of the foods we eat.
The miracle is all about the oil in the holy temple lasting eight days when, in reality, there was only enough to keep the menorah lit for one night.
So, in tribute to the great miracle, we eat foods fried in oil.  While the miracle of the oil involved extra virgin olive oil, known in Hebrew as "shemen zayit zach", any oil will do.
The most common Chanukah treats are latkes (pronounced either lot'-keys or lot'-kahs), which were born in Eastern Europe, and jelly doughnuts, called sufganiyot (pronounced soof'-gah-nee-yot'), which were born in Israel.
There is also a tradition of eating dairy foods in tribute to the story of Judith and Holofernes.  In short, Holofernes, an Assyrian general, was about to destroy the home of Judith, a beautiful widow who lived in the village of Bethulia.  Holofernes found Judith to be of great beauty and thus allowed her into his tent where she plied him with cheese, which made him thirsty, and she then got him seriously drunk with lots of wine to quench his thirst.  This made him very sleepy.  While he slept, she beheaded him, and then put his head in a basket, carrying it to the town gate where she stuck it for all to see.
Many people have the custom of giving their children gifts every one of the eight nights of Chanukah.  That was not the tradition with which I was raised.  We were actually taught that the custom of giving gifts is a poor imitation of Christmas and not the "correct" way to observe the holiday.
So, following a bit closer to the tradition of my upbringing, I only gave my daughter symbolic little trinkets that related to the holiday.
On the first night she was given a yo-yo that plays a Chanukah song while you play it rolls up and down.  That night was also celebrated with the lighting of the first candle and the serving of zucchini latkes as a side dish with our dinner.
On the second night, she got a dreydl and learned what each of the four letters stand for, and how the game is played.
On the third night, she got some chocolate coins, with which she could play the dreydl.

And so on, and so on, until the last night.  All eight candles were lit, songs were sung, and a delicious dinner was served.  And then, the crowning glory of the final night, delectable homemade sufganiyot with a healthier twist.  I filled them with fresh strawberries and a bit of fresh strawberry jam.  They were so delicious.
I froze the remaining unfilled doughnuts.  The following weekend, I made the most incredibly delicious doughnut French toast and topped it with Nutella.  Oh goodness, that was some really good eats!!!