How to Spell Chanukah: 18 Writers on 8 Nights of Lights »

Emily Franklin studied at Oxford University and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. Later she became an English teacher, a freelance writer, and earned her master's degree from Dartmouth College. She lives in the Boston area.

"What a holiday! No pestilence, no slavery, no locusts, no cattle disease or atonement. No synagogue, no guilt, no mortar, and no real lesson to be absorbed and passed down to my Jewish offspring. Thank God," writes Joshua Braff, one of eighteen Jewish writers who extol, excoriate, and expand our understanding of this most merry of Jewish holidays.

These essays, by Adam Langer, Tova Mirvis, Steve Almond, Eric Orner, and others, range from the comedic to the snarky, the poignant to the poetic, and includes such topics as the jealousy experienced in December when the rest of America is celebrating Christmas (we never get to join in the reindeer games!); the problem parents have dampening their children's desire for more presents (call it Greedikah!); and the weight gain associated with eating 432 latkes in eight nights (dayenu, enough!).

Whether your Chanukahs were spent singing "I have a Little Dreidel" or playing the "Maoz Tzur" on the piano, whether your family tradition included a Christmas tree or a Chanukah bush, whether the fights among your siblings over who would light the menorah candles rivaled the battles of the Maccabees, or even if you haven't a clue who the Maccabees were, this little book proves there are as many ways to celebrate Chanukah as there are ways to spell it.

Introduction: Hanu Channuk Chanukah by Emily Franklin xi

The Blue Team by Joshua Braff 1

Creature Comfies by Joshua Neuman 7

Week at a Glance by Elisa Albert 21

Chanukah Your Hearts Out! by Steven Almond 39

The Guinea Pig by Jennifer Gilmore 43

The Only Dreidel in Idaho by Jill Kargman 61

Rock of Ages by Jonathan Tropper 77

Traditions Break by Eric Orner 95

Oak Street, 1981 by Peter Orner 119

Dolls of the World by Joanna Smith Rakoff 123

Chanukah Glutton by Tova Mirvis 151

My Peaceful and Glorious Brothers by Edward Schwarzschild 161

Oh, Lord. Oh, Lourdes. Alors! by Mameve Medwed 175

My Father's Menorah by Adam Langer 187

An Israeli Chanukah by Amy Klein 203

Presents! by Ben Schrank 215

The Light, the Sword, and the Nintendo DS by Karen E. Bender and Robert Athony Siegel 223

Eight Nights by Laura Dave 237