Blessing over Fragrances including Chanukah Fragrances

The 25th evening of the month of Kislev at sundown marks the commencement of Chanukah. Because the Jewish calendar is a lunar one, it happens to fall on the eve of December 2nd this year, which feels early because approximately every other year it coincides with the celebration of Christmas. I can’t even begin to compete with Senior Editor Robert Hermann’s brilliant 2017 discourse – nor would it be seemly in any wise. For all the historical particulars, please read his fabulous 2017 post which I’ve hyperlinked!!!

Anonymous painting from the 18th century of a father and  his children celebrating  Hanukkah source Judaism.wiki.com

I’ll come straight to the point: I’m conflicted about this particular holiday. I adore the concept of miracles of any kind. As a not-so-closet-anthropologist-wannabe who devoured Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough by age seven, I’ve appreciated how all faith systems seem to converge upon the point of celebrating light during the darkest period of the year. I love lighting candles. My turmoil revolves around military victories (despite Sun in Aries, albeit in the 12th house), the Lysistratian angst of motherhood and the realization that no one really ‘wins’ a war – sons, daughters, wives, husbands all perish in the process. To complicate the matter further, I’ve always felt that many folk view Chanukah as “the Jewish Christmas” by emphasizing lavish gift-giving in an attempt to make Jewish children feel less Other, especially in neighborhoods where they are outnumbered by other faiths. None of this feels good, frankly.

A reproduction of 'The Maccabees,' a 1842 painting by Wojciech Korneli Stattler.

Thanks to my brand-new son-in-law Daniel Picus, post-doctoral professor at Carleton College (undergrad Macallister College, graduate of Oxford University, doctorate from Brown), I now feel better about my misgivings. According to his extensive studies in Ancient Mediterranean Religion (his specialty), the rabbis were terribly conflicted about celebrating a military victory, and according to the Talmud in ~ 500 A.D., they created the miracle of light during which the menorah oil burned for eight days. Until this morning, dear readers – I simply had NO idea. What a relief. Learned people struggled with this, too. There it is.

Elena Flerova, Family Time

What is magnificent about Chanukah? The gathering of community, of family and family-by-choice, the shafts of light and hope which penetrate our darkest hours and illuminate the soul. The food! Anything fried in oil is lovely, and my favorite is the humble latke, aka potato pancake – which may be gussied up in any wild number of ways to delicious effect. And then, there are the aromas…

 

Six13 version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody Bohemian  Chanukah

What do you want to wear to brighten the darkest days of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course!)? Here are my suggestions for Chanukah Fragrances based on symbols of the holiday:

Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe out in Beverly Hills, 1953  

Oil: a strange place to begin! For one of the most unctuous, oleaginous beauties which mimic the luxury of being swanningly enrobed in mink – my go-to love is Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s L’Étole de Vison. You just can’t beat it: that sleek fur which glosses over your quivering chilled flesh and warms it so cunningly. It’s subtle, tenacious and breathtaking in the most insidious manner. Yes, I’ve purchased it in just about every available format and no – I’ve never experienced a murmur of complaint. It’s universally admired.

Chanukah Menorah apped by Robert H

Wax: candlewax in particular, especially beeswax!!! Honeyed. So much the better if it’s paired withpepper, labdanum, saffron, incense and myrrh. Enter Maria Candida Gentlile’s soulful Sideris, one of my most-loved from her house. For soothing graciousness and wearability anywhere, it’s in its own category. Underappreciated, more affordable than most, it will comfort you through the long night of winter; it’s a glorious wisp of a thing and wears longer than you’d imagine.

via tumblr©

Hearth: there’s a thought. For intimacy, communion, warmth there are few things more primeval than to gather around fire. Comme des Garcons Black is a sure-fire way to smell singed, for one. It’s brutally beautiful – make no mistake. Eau de toilette, my hat; this fragrance has monster sillage and longevity, and the licorice/leather combination sizzles with birch tar for a realistic scorched earth effect. A very little goes a very long way. You’ll heat up quickly.

Photo via Youtube

Spice:we often crave warmth in the cold, and what better supposition than via warm spices? You might find a yen for Parfums Micallef Ananda Tchaï – beautifully presented by Senior Editor Gail Gross and sent me as a gift by Senior Editor  Robert Hermann this summer. It’s everything a good chai invokes: sweet, milky, fragrant, comforting and chases the chill away. That alone is worth sampling. It has stunning longevity and clings fondly to garments long after application.

May there always be a light when things seem darkest.

Perfumes I used for Chanukah Fragrances from my own collection. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief ~Since our inception in 2010, we have had a tradition of celebrating Chanukah and fragrances we associate with the holiday. We also choose a song as well. I wrote our first Chanukah Fragrances post on December 1, 2010, then in 2011, Tama Blough (RIP) in 2012, next was Nancy Lichtenstein in 2013,  followed  Einsof  2014, Aaron Potterman 2015, Robert Herrmann in 2016 as well as 2017. This is our 8th and seems fitting as there are 8 days of Chanukah, or Hanukkah (there are also 8 ways to spell). DSH Perfumes, also featured here created the first of the Chanukah fragrances— Chanukah Cannelle— to be composed (to my knowledge) to celebrate this holiday.  “We at ÇaFleureBon wish you loving, gracious holidays. Always.”-Ida Meister

For our Chanukah Fragrances draw our kind friends are offering:

 Worldwide: 100 ml of M. Micallef Ananda Tchai

Worldwide:10 ml Voile de Parfum of Etole de Vision

To be eligible you must be a  registered reader and please leave a comment what you  liked or learned about Ida’s Chanukah Fragrances post, where you live and which or both you would like to win.  How do you spell Chanukah? Draw closes 12/5/2018

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.