至尊英语阅读资料之食品饮料专题第31集.pdfVIP

Food and beverage articles 31 [751]Why Do Kids Get Chocolate Coins on Religious Holidays? You may have seen chocolate coins in bright gold and silver colored wrappers in the stores around mid-winter. Unless youre Jewish, you might not have known what these coins were for. While theyre simply a tasty treat for the rest of us, these coins are a part of the Hanukkah celebration for Jews - theyre called gelt, which is Yiddish for money. Gelt is often given out to children to help them enjoy the holiday. Sometimes the gelt is in the form of real coins - the equivalent of stocking stuffers - and larger gifts of money from grandparents. Gelt given in Israel is called dmei Hanukkah. In addition, those who visit Hasidic Rebbes during the season may receive coins, as a blessing. However, theres also chocolate gelt. Modern chocolate gelt can look like current coins or like antique ones. Each gold or silver wrapper is stamped to look like a coin, complete with a face side, tail side and writing. The chocolate beneath is similarly stamped. Little bags of these confections can be easily found in drug stores, grocery stores, high end chocolatiers and other places where delicious chocolate is sold. Of course, the price of the gelt will reflect the quality of the chocolate inside. Gelt in the form of chocolate coins is a mostly twentieth century innovation. It makes a fun gift for children, and can be used instead of real money in dreidel games. Playing with a dreidel is a big part of the Hanukkah celebration for Jewish children, since it commemorates a period where Jews were not allowed to study Torah by the Romans. To hide the fact that they were really engaging in forbidden religious practices, playing dreidel games arose. Roman soldiers who encountered someone playing these games assumed that they were gambling, not studying. A dreidel, called a sevivon in Hebrew, is a spinning top with four sides. Children play with it for Hanukkah, and each side has a H