The longest night is behind us; the days are beginning to lengthen.

Christmas Eve is tomorrow, Christmas Day and the first night of Chanukkah follow. As does Kwanzaa. A week later, we’ll be ringing in 2025.

We celebrate the dark of winter with light. On porches, windows, even on trees lights shimmer bright in winter’s chill breeze.

We burn candles during Advent, Chanukkah and Kwanzaa. Hanukkah candles glimmer and glow. For eight long days, the lights will show. Kwanzaa candles, green and red tell of struggle and hope ahead. Holiday candles burn bright. Celebrate! Bring on the light!

During this darkest time of year, winter holidays share the cheer. We come together. We share a feast. We make sure no one is left out or hungry.

What will you serve for your holiday feast? Italians celebrate Christmas Eve with fish. In the USA many celebrate Christmas Day with turkey. But there are varied traditions, depending on where ancestors hailed from.

This year, our Christmas Eve supper will include herring, a potato-bean-veggie salad, beet and cabbage soup with hearty whole-grain bread, pierogi, salmon, cauliflower, kraut with mushrooms and for dessert, cookies and stollen.

Later in the week, we will invite friends for latkes and keftes. Chanukkah celebrates the oil with fried foods like latkes, keftes and donuts.

Kwanzaa foods are based on African-American ‘soul food” and cuisines from the Caribbean, South America and Africa. Common foods include jerk chicken, cornbread, sweet potatoes, collard greens, okra, black-eyed peas, beans and rice, Caribbean fruits, coconut cake, sweet potato bars and peach cobbler.

Which holidays do you celebrate? Are you planning for guests or an intimate family gathering? What will you serve?

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Keftes de Prasa

(Sephardic Leek Latkes)

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Ingredients:

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2 pounds leeks (about 6)

2 teaspoons salt, divided (or more if you wish)

4 large eggs

3/4 cup matzoh meal (or bread crumbs)

1/4 cup fresh minced parsley (or more)

A few grinds of pepper and turmeric, optional

2 to 4 Tablespoons finely minced and toasted walnuts, optional

Directions:

Cut off the root at the bottom of the stem and the tough green leaves at the top of your leeks. You can use a good amount of the tops, just stop when they are really tough.

Slice leeks into rounds. Separate the rounds and rinse several times in a bowl of water until you are confident that all dirt and sand are gone.

Place leeks in a saucepan; cover with water and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until soft and tender, but not mushy– about 10 minutes.

Drain in a colander. (You can reserve the water for soup.)

Cool the leeks until you can handle them, and squeeze out any liquid with your hands. You should have about 1 1/2 cup. Or, put the leeks away until you are ready to mix and fry them later in the day (or even the next day).

Break the eggs into a large bowl. Add the remaining salt, pepper, turmeric (if using), matzoh meal, parsley and nuts; stir to combine. Fold in the cooked leeks. Leave to rest for a few minutes to give the bread time to absorb the egg and form a mixture dense enough to shape into small patties. If it still seems too moist, add a bit more matzoh or bread crumbs to bind the ingredients together.

Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over a medium-high flame.

When the oil is hot (but not smoking), gently spoon one or two tablespoons into the pan and try to shape it to be round. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden, then flip over to brown the other side. Be sure not to crowd them in the pan. Repeat with remaining mixture until all the batter is used up. Remove with spatula and drain on paper towels. Taste one and adjust salt if necessary.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves four.

Keftes are delicious plain, but you can also serve them with a tart smear of plain Greek yogurt or sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Option: For a crisper crust, coat each kefte with additional bread crumbs before frying.