celebration of Hanukkah is shining a light on the Jewish festival of lights this holiday season from uncovering the celebrations 2000 year-old origins to frying up golden potato Pancakes.

W t Tw is Jeffrey Bear Lumen 8 Hanak has a rich history and traditions in the new special and our own Jeff Repair joins us now.

Good to see you.

Great to be here.

So this was the first time you've done a Hanukkah special.

Have the idea come about?

Well, you know, they're all these Christmas shows on PBS and there aren't very many Hanukkah shows.

So our program director was complaining about that.

But exactly one year ago.

>> And someone in the meeting said, well, Jeffries, Final point.

certainly I recruited to make a Hanukkah show which had been planning to and I dropped everything and ran all around the city and captured what we what we could capture.

And then we brought a wonderful producer on after that.

And she made a great show is really great.

grew up in a Jewish household, but you didn't necessarily celebrate a lot of the holidays, right?

What was it like?

Getting to learn more about It was amazing.

It was amazing.

I mean, the show I got to say the show is very light hearted.

It is our editor cause a lighthearted through other winter holiday.

But you do learn a lot about Hanukkah.

I'm spoiler alert.

It's going to be on later tonight.

And 8 o'clock and one of the things that, you know, we've always been taught that could last for 8 nights because this miracle of the oil and the temple, they only had oil for one night at it lasted for 8 nights.

That story was made up 600 years after the fact.

So that was something I definitely learned that I didn't know.

It's a good story, though.

You've got to give And it's about light in the darkness, which on a day like today is wonderful.

Absolutely.

So speaking of the oil, you've got to show off your cooking skills Take a look at you making some lucky >> Plus overcome Hanna guys.

He is.

>> Then it's 2 eggs, salt and and it's time to fry.

>> But the trick is is that I fry them in schmaltz.

>> She says any type of vegetable oil will also work.

>> But I just keep turning them both the grease and that smell can linger.

But it's worth it.

>> Of look good.

They were great.

That was Mindy Segal committees bakery.

you know, James Beard, Award-winning chef.

And that was some of the best stuff I ever ate.

Okay.

My hardest hitting question of the night apple sauce or sour cream.

Right?

So this is the traditional toppings on a lot because and I mean, like Governor Pritzker in that last segment.

I like applesauce and sour cream.

I really do.

I mix them together.

It's very good.

That's good.

Sweet and savory.

So, absolutely.

What are some of the other common Hanukkah Foods you feature in the Well, and there's something I never heard of growing up there called their jelly doughnuts.

They're called Super County Haute and they are these there filled jelly doughnuts that now this is she that that these are the the gun, you know, the the shot right before that Mindy puts brisk it on her mask that was one of the best things ever tasted in my life.

Here we are filling the Ghani, Otis, the North Shore, kosher bakery with ALS been as we have area making a total mess out It was was a really fun show to to, to work on.

And there's just a lot of laughs and the whole show.

But, you know, in the U.S. alone times, Hanukkah can be overshadowed by Christmas.

there's been effort in the last few decades to make it more publicly visible.

I mean, how did that all come about?

Well, interestingly, that was the result of a very very religious part.

Jewish Group Chabad is very orthodox Jewish and they have this annual Menorah car top parade.

But they were seeing long ago they were seeing, you Christmas trees in crashes and things in the public square, which is, you know, thought to be a neutral space many Jews and the ACLU with a choose involved were objecting to this.

How about went the whole other direction?

And they took it all the way to the Supreme Court and won.

And so now you see there, they're menorahs displayed in public squares all over the world, actually.

And even if it had not your holiday, what's what's wrong with a little extra light in the wintertime?

Exactly.

Why no to, you know, sort of coming into the mainstream or also can mean a little more of the commercialization happens with Christmas?

I mean, how does that play out?

Well, one of the things I learned from the show was that really the commercialization Christmas really doesn't start until the 1920's, Santa Claus, the way we see him with the red, you know, sued in the beer.

That's a total invention of Coca-Cola.

And it is.

so, you know, Jewish parents saw that these these non Jewish kids with gentiles we're having Christmas was a beautiful holiday.

They felt their kids, you know, maybe a little bit left out.

And so, you know, it's sort of accelerated this Plus, a lot of Jews like in my family, growing up were celebrating Christmas.

Christmas tree.

We had Santa Claus and they were like, you know, hey, let's let's you know, it's another mid winter holiday.

Let give Hanukkah a little bit of love.

Well, locally in Chicago, you know, outside of some of the religious observances, what are other ways that that folks recognize and celebrate the holiday?

Well, I do if you have a clip of this or not, but there's Hanukkah pop-up bar in Wrigleyville called 8 Crazy Nights.

Here we are.

This is a Hanukkah party at a North shore contribution Israel where I wiped out this kid afraid sorry about But there's hull.

So in addition, all this wonderful, lovely family oriented stuff.

There's a Hanukkah pop-up bar in Wrigleyville called 8 Crazy nights with delights as the rock and rabbi, the Sabbath Night Fever and the Messiah And there it is.

That's the Gulf Sunday right there.

There's them aside.

There's the Messiah.

Know that's 7th 19 anyway.

If that's part of the show, too.

I confess I have had a drink there before take to blue.

Does get a little.

so blue like it's all around.

You're out.

You come out seeing whatever the complimentary colors of blue.

When you leave exactly.

Alright.

Well, it was a really fun show to watch.

Seems like it with a lot of fun to make.

It was really fun in the and the response already has been really rewarding.

And I hope