Why are potato latkes a traditional Jewish Hanukkah food? Do they relate to any historical events/traditions?
http://www.zuzu.org/rec2.html Potato Latkes This favorite is always a crowd pleaser during Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. Oil was burned in the original menorahs and now plays an important symbolic role in many fried foods. OR in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latkes Though commonly associated with the Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine of Eastern Europe, they are not necessarily Jewish in origin. Areas like northeast Poland, for instance, know many varieties. A favorite Polish dish is placki węgierskie (placki po węgiersku) — potato pancakes stuffed with a thick, spicy Hungarian goulash. Latkes are traditionally eaten during the Jewish Hanukkah festival although they play no fundamental part in Hanukkah ritual. The custom probably evolved because of the preference for eating fried foods during the festival that celebrates a miracle involving oil in the Temple of an
