How is Hanukkah Celebrated?

There are a variety of traditions and practices surrounding the celebration of Hanukkah.

The Hanukiyah

Photo courtesy About.com Graphic Design A Hanukiyah surrounded by Hanukkah trinkets: Notice the raised Shamash candle.

The most important, and most recognized, Hanukkah tradition is the lighting of the candelabra, known as the Hanukiyah (or the Menorah). The Hanukiyah holds nine candles, eight representing the eight nights of the holiday plus the Shamash -- this candle is used to light the other candles. The first candle is lit on Erev Hanukkah, the night before the holiday starts.

One inserts the candles into the Hanukiyah from right to left, one candle for each day of the Hanukkah miracle (for instance, on the second day of Hanukkah, there are two regular candles and a Shamash candle in the Hanukiyah). Blessings are said while someone lights the candles from left to right. According to tradition, the left-most candle represents the most recent day of the miracle, and one lights this candle first because he is most thankful that the oil lasted yet another day. As each day passes, the Hanukiyah becomes brighter and brighter.

These are the blessings for the lighting of the Hanukiyah:

• Blessing for the candles:

  Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mits-vo tav, ve-tsi-va-nu le-had-lik neir shel Chan-nu-kah.
  Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the candles of Hanukkah.

• Blessing for Hanukkah:

  Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, she-a-sa ni-sim la-vo-tei-nu ba-ya-mim ha-heim ba-ze-man ha-zeh.
  Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days at this time.

• The Shehechyanu (This is only said the first night.)

  Ba-ruch ata, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, she-he-chya-nu ve-ki-ya-ma-nu ve-hi-gi-a-nu laz-man-ha-zeh.
  Blessed are you, Lord, our God, king of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season.

The Dreidel

Photo courtesy About.com Graphic Design A dreidel with the letter shin

The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The dreidel game was played during time of Antiochus, before the Jewish revolt. Because Jews could be killed for practicing their religion, when they gathered to study the Torah, or holy scripture, they would have a dreidel handy. If they were discovered by Greek soldiers, they could pretend to be playing with it.

The game is usually played with each player receiving a number of coins or candy. Before spinning the dreidel, each player puts money in the pot, or kupah. On each side of the dreidel is a Hebrew letter: nun, gimmel, hey or shin. Each player spins the dreidel and sees what letter is facing up when it falls. Each letter represents a different outcome, from winning nothing to taking the whole kupah. For more information, check out Holidays.net: Playing the Dreidel.

Hanukkah Gelt

Photo courtesy About.com Graphic Design Hanukkah gelt

The word gelt means "money" in Yiddish. On Hanukkah, there is a tradition of giving real or chocolate coins as presents to children. Most likely because Hanukkah falls near Christmas, giving gelt has evolved into giving and receiving other presents on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah Foods

Latkes
Commemorating the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight nights, Hanukkah foods are usually fried in oil. Latkes are the most notable example of these fried foods. Latkes are potato pancakes found in many Jewish homes during Hanukkah. They are made by frying small pancakes of grated potatoes held together by eggs and/or milk. They are usually eaten with apple sauce or sour cream.

Sufganiyot
In Israel, the custom is to serve sufganiyot, jelly doughnuts fried in oil, on Hanukkah. There, you can buy them on almost any street corner. They are very similar to the jelly doughnuts we know in America. They are filled with jam and covered with powdered sugar. Sufganiyot are a reminder of the cakes hurriedly prepared for the Maccabees as they went into battle.

In our day and age, Hanukkah has taken on some additional meaning because it is so near to Christmas. Nowadays, people often shop for Hanukkah gifts like they do for Christmas gifts, and the Hanukiyah has become a recognized symbol of the holiday season.

The Festival of Lights is a time for Jewish families to rejoice, play games, give gifts and light the candles. It commemorates a triumph over religious persecution and the importance of a 2,000-year-old miracle.

For more information on Chanukah, Judaism in general and other holidays, check out the links on the next page.

Hanukkah Facts In ancient times, olive oil was used in Hanukkah menorahs. The menorah we see today resembles the one from the Holy Temple and began to appear during the Middle Ages. Menorahs can come in many shapes and sizes. The only requirement is that the flames are separate from each other. In Israel, a dreidel is called a sivivon. The Yiddish word dreidel comes from the German word drehen, which means "turn." *Source: The History Channel