Hanukkah

Lighting candles on a menorah, a special candleholder. Biting into a steaming potato pancake. Spinning a top called a dreidel in a game of chance. These events are part of a yearly Jewish holiday called Hanukkah.

Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, means “dedication” in Hebrew. Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of the Maccabees.

WHEN IS HANUKKAH?

Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev (approximately December). The holiday lasts for eight days.

WHAT DOES HANUKKAH CELEBRATE?

Hanukkah celebrates a Jewish victory over a Syrian king named Antiochus in the 2nd century bc. Antiochus had seized the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. He forbade the practice of Judaism, the Jewish religious faith.

In 165 bc, the great Jewish general Judas Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem. Maccabee rededicated the Jewish temple to God with a celebration that lasted eight days. According to tradition, the Jews had only enough oil to burn in their lamps for one day. But the oil miraculously burned for eight days.

HOW IS HANUKKAH CELEBRATED TODAY?

During Hanukkah, Jews remember the rededication of the temple by lighting candles. They use a special candleholder called a menorah. A Hanukkah menorah has eight branches with a place for an extra candle to light the others. Each night of Hanukkah a candle is lit. On the last night, all eight candles flicker and gleam.

Hanukkah is a time for family, food, and song. The miracle of the oil is recalled by preparing fried foods such as potato pancakes, called latkes. Children may receive small gifts or money. Songs remind people of the Hanukkah story.

During Hanukkah, people play a game of chance called dreidel.

HOW DO YOU PLAY DREIDEL?

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top. A letter of the Hebrew alphabet appears on each side. Players drop something, such as coins or candies, into a “pot.” A player spins the dreidel and waits for it to slow and topple on its side. When it does, one of the letters shows.

The Hebrew letters on the dreidel stand for “nothing,” “all,” “half,” and “put in” (or “match the pot”). When the dreidel stops, players know what they have won or lost. Have they won everything in the pot? Half of the pot? Nothing? Or, must they place more into the pot?

Over time, the Hebrew letters on the dreidel have come to mean “A great miracle happened there.” This is another reminder of the rededication of the temple more than 2,000 years ago.

Source: Microsoft ® Encarta

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