To all our Jewish family members, friends and neighbors may your holidays be blessed with joy and light.
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev which coincides with late November – late December on the secular calendar. This year’s Hanukkah celebration began on Dec. 16.
In Hebrew, the word “hanukkah” means “dedication.” The holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.
Following their victory, Jewish troops were determined to purify the Temple by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. They discovered there was only one day’s worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.
This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah. The holiday is commonly known as the Festival of Lights.
Many consider Hanukkah to be the Jewish equivalent of Christmas. It is not. Although gifts are exchanged, Hanukkah actually is considered a minor Jewish holiday while Christmas is one of the two main holidays on the protestant Christian calendar (Easter is the other).
There are many fun traditions tied to Hanukkah. Here’s a list we found on the About Religion website.
Hanukkah Traditions
Every community has its unique Hanukkah traditions, but there are some traditions that are almost universally practiced. They are: lighting the hanukkiyah, spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods.
Lighting the hanukkiyah: Every year it is customary to commemorate the miracle of the Hanukkah oil by lighting candles on a hanukkiyah. The hanukkiyah is lit every night for eight nights.
Spinning the dreidel: A popular Hanukkah game is spinning the dreidel, which is a four-sided top with Hebrew letters written on each side. Read The Hanukkah Dreidel to learn more about the dreidel, the meaning of the letters and how to play the game. Gelt, which are chocolate coins covered with tin foil, are part of this game.
Eating fried foods: Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, it is traditional to eat fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday. Latkes are pancakes made out of potatoes and onions, which are fried in oil and then served with applesauce. Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly-filled donuts that are fried and sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar before eating.
