Bush continued the tradition of White House ceremonies and receptions for Hanukkah, expanding both the guest list and preparations for the event.
For example, after an embarrassing incident in 2004 when non-kosher foods were mixed up with some special kosher foods that had been brought in for the occasion, the Hanukkah party in 2005 began the tradition of kashering the White House kitchen so that all foods served at the party would be kosher.
According to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of the American Friends of Lubavitch and head of the team that kashers the White House kitchen for the annual Hanukkah party, the ovens are first scrubbed clean by Marines or Navy personnel employed by the White House, and are then heated to 500 °F (260 °C) to 600 °F (316 °C) to render them kosher.
Servingware – including "hundreds of platters, thousands of pieces of silverware and other small items, and lots of stands and serving pieces" – are also kashered for the event.

One Hanukkah activity involving the president's staff that might have been a "first" was OMB director Josh Bolten's reading of two Hanukkah bedtime stories over the White House website, as part of a special series of stories set up by First Lady Laura Bush.
A number of other individuals, including Mrs. Bush herself, former First Lady Barbara Bush, and a number of cabinet members took part in this program, with Bolten's selection as the reader of the Hanukkah stories was presumably linked to his religious affiliation.
Bush continued the tradition of White House ceremonies and receptions for Hanukkah, expanding both the guest list and preparations for the event. For example, after an embarrassing incident in 2004 when non-kosher foods were mixed up with some special kosher foods that had been brought in for the occasion, the Hanukkah party in 2005 began the tradition of kashering the White House kitchen so that all foods served at the party would be kosher. According to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of the American Friends of Lubavitch and head of the team that kashers the White House kitchen for the annual Hanukkah party, the ovens are first scrubbed clean by Marines or Navy personnel employed by the White House, and are then heated to 500 °F (260 °C) to 600 °F (316 °C) to render them kosher. Servingware – including "hundreds of platters, thousands of pieces of silverware and other small items, and lots of stands and serving pieces" – are also kashered for the event.
One Hanukkah activity involving the president's staff that might have been a "first" was OMB director Josh Bolten's reading of two Hanukkah bedtime stories over the White House website, as part of a special series of stories set up by First Lady Laura Bush. A number of other individuals, including Mrs. Bush herself, former First Lady Barbara Bush, and a number of cabinet members took part in this program, with Bolten's selection as the reader of the Hanukkah stories was presumably linked to his religious affiliation.
White House Hanukkah Party