Larry Cohan

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in December 2020. Remember Covid times?

This month marks the 49th year of our annual gathering of friends to celebrate Chanukah. Over the years we’ve shared in both joys and sorrows and watched our children grow up and have kids of their own.  And it only takes four emails to pin everyone down on a date; the original members aren’t exactly pressed for time these days.

As in past years, each youngster will receive a new dreidel, commemorating the occasion.  However, this year’s celebration will otherwise be quite unusual: (like many families) we will turn on our respective computers, zoom at the appointed hour and light our own menorahs together, sorta. 

While we’re all missing social gatherings and burned out on zoom calls by now, there are a few positives about celebrating Chanukah over the Internet:

We don’t have to listen to Millie complain that she doesn’t want to be in the same room as Sherman, her ex, and his girlfriend of twenty years.  We don’t have the tape of Chanukah ’87 in electronic format, so we won’t be able to see Josie, age 2, unattended and shoveling hors d’ouevres into her face while the adults were too occupied in the next room with Scotches.  Josie, now grown up, is employed as a food consultant.  Go figure.  Also, the kids, stretched in cities across the country, will have little excuse not to attend this year.

Lastly, we won’t have to eat Chanukah chicken, a 1950’s classic involving apricot jam and Catalina salad dressing.  Happy Holidays!