Oh, my newest favorite Hanukah ritual: the flaming tea ceremony. We tried this yesterday at my friend's house, but apparently we didn't soak the sugar cubes in nearly enough brandy, b/c they refused to light.

flaming tea

"In old Russia symbols embodying the use of light for the Festival of Chanukah were very popular, and none more so than Flaming Tea. There was quite a bit of drama in this ceremony.

Well in advance of serving the Flaming Tea, great cones of sugar were broken into pieces. These were piled high on a dish. Then tall glasses of tea, poured from a samovar, were passed around, each with a pony of brandy and a generous lump of sugar. Each person would dip his sugar into the brandy, then place it on a teaspoon held over the glass. Lights were then turned out as a lighted taper was passed among the guests to light the brandy-dipped sugar. As the glow spread from one to another, songs were sung and then all together the flaming cubes were dropped into the waiting glasses."

The kids had fun experimenting on the sugar cubes after we tried lighting them (we ended up with caramelized sugar coated w/wax from the candles, though I did put one of the brandy-soaked cubes into my tea--festive! And tasty!).