Have you ever heard of Hanukkah? Like many of the winter holidays, It is a festival of light celebrated in December. Whereas Christians celebrate a miraculous birth for their Christmas holiday, the Jewish people celebrate another miracle that took place. 

A long time ago, a powerful king named Antiochus tried to force the Jewish people to give up their religion by taking over their holy temple. A group of brave Jewish fighters, called the Maccabees, rose up and fought to defend their right to worship in their own way. Despite being outnumbered, the Maccabees won the war and kicked the king and his soldiers out of the temple. 

Then, they set to work cleaning up their temple so it could be used again for worship. When they were done and it was time to light the lamp for their ceremony, they found just one small jar of oil, only enough for one day and night. But, by the miracle celebrated on Hanukkah, the lamp continued to burn for eight days and nights instead of only one, allowing them the time they needed to get more sacred oil. 

Hanukkah means “festival of light” and is a time of joy, miracles and hope for the people who practice Judaism. 

At the center of this festival of light is a menorah, which holds nine candles – eight to recognize each night that the oil burned and one “helper” candle, called a shamash, that lights the others. On each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, an additional candle is lit until, at last, the entire menorah is aglow. 

Each night of Hanukkah is a celebration and families hold feasts with special foods, such as potato pancakes, called “latkes,” and jelly doughnuts, known as “sufgnaiyot.” Many of the special foods are fried in oil to celebrate the miraculous oil that kept the lamp burning. (CAN INSERT HERE TO SEE PAGE # FOR RECIPE OF LATKES)

Families, especially children, give each other gifts for each night of Hanukkah. Donations to charities are also made to ignite a spirit of generosity within the wider community. Blessings, prayers, songs and special games are a big part of this Jewish holiday.

One of the most beloved games of Hanukkah is Dreidel. A Dreidel is a small spinning top, usually made from wood, that has four sides, each with a different symbol in Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people:

Each person is given a pile of golden, wrapped chocolate coins, called “gelt.” When they take turns spinning the Dreidel, it lands on different symbols, telling the player to do different things. The player who gets all the gelt wins! 

If you want to play a game of Dreidel, you can ask your grown up to purchase a plastic or wooden Dreidel as well as golden-wrapped chocolate coins. You can also find templates online for creating your very own Dreidel. Just have your parents head here to print off this easy-to-use template: https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/parents/migrated-assets/printables/pdfs/Printables-Holiday2-Dreidel.pdf