''The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story'' is a children's book written by

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...

and illustrated by Lisa Brown. An irate

latke A latke ( ''latke''; sometimes romanized ''latka'', lit. "pancake") is a type of potato pancake or fritter in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine that is traditionally prepared to celebrate Hanukkah. It is commonly eaten in Israel and the Jewish diaspor ...

Hanukkah Hanukkah (, ; ''Ḥănukkā'' ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd ce ...

escapes from being cooked in a hot frying pan. He runs into various

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

symbols (such as

Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...

, a

candy cane A candy cane is a Walking stick, cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide as well as Saint Nicholas Day. The canes are traditionally white with red Stripe (pattern), stripes and flavored with peppermint, but the canes also com ...

and

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

) who are all ignorant and uneducated about the customs of Hanukkah. The latke attempts to educate these characters about the history and culture surrounding the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish holiday, but his attempts are always in vain and he runs away from each encounter in a fit of frustration.

Plot summary

The story begins in a tiny village, where in a small undecorated cottage, a latke is born. The latke, suffering from its immersion in heated olive oil, begins to scream and jumps out the window. It encounters a string of flashing colored lights, which do not appreciate the latke's shrieks and wonder why it was thrown into a pan of boiling oil. The latke explains that the oil is a reminder of "the oil used to rededicate the temple following the defeat of

Antiochus Antiochus (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος) is a Greek male personal name, likely meaning "resolute in contention", or "unwavering". It is derived from the two words αντί ("against") and ὄχη ("support"). It was a dynastic name for rulers of ...

at the hands of the

Maccabees The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees (, or , ; or ; , ), were a group of Jews, Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Its leaders, the Hasmoneans, founded the Hasmonean dynasty ...

". The lights compare the latke to hash browns, and suggest it be served with a Christmas ham. The latke exclaims that it is something completely different, and runs away screaming. The latke then comes across a candy cane, which expresses distaste at the latke's mouthwatering smell. The latke points out that its smell is a reminder of greater modern religious freedom. In 175 BCE, the latke explains, in order to study the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, Hebrews needed to hide in caves, and pretended to play with dreidels when Greek soldiers approached. The candy cane equates this with Joseph and Mary hiding in the manger, but the latke insists that this is a totally different thing, and runs off screaming into the forest. The latke stops to rest under a pine tree, which asks if the latke is a present. The latke tiredly explains that it is more important to light the candles eight nights in a row, "to commemorate the miracle in the temple and the miracle of victory even when you are thoroughly outnumbered". The tree mentions Santa Claus, and although the latke insists that Christmas and Hannukah are completely different, the tree explains that different things often blend together. The tree begins to tell a funny story about pagan rituals when it is interrupted by a family searching the forest for a holiday necessity. They scoop up the latke and take it home, where it is finally "welcomed into a home full of people who understood what a latke is, and how it fits into this particular holiday".Snicket, L (2007). ''The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming''. McSweeney's Books. p.41 Then they eat it.

Theatrical adaptation

The book was adapted for the stage by Tall Stories Theatre Company, touring from 2012 to 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming, The Works by Lemony Snicket 2007 American novels Hanukkah children's books Christmas children's books 2007 children's books American picture books

Plot summary

Theatrical adaptation

See also

References