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Hanukkah

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Menorah ©

Hanukkah or Chanukah is the Jewish Festival of Lights. It dates back to two centuries before the beginning of Christianity.

The festival begins on the 25th day of Kislev and is celebrated for eight days. In the western calendar Hanukkah is celebrated in November or December.

The word Hanukkah means rededication and commemorates the Jews' struggle for religious freedom.

History

The festival marks the phenomenal victory of a group of Jews called the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks, the most powerful army of the ancient world.

At the end of the three-year war, the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple.

When the Maccabees rededicated the temple, they discovered a single cruse of oil with the seal of the High Priest still intact.

When they came to light the eight-branched temple candelabrum, the menorah, they had enough oil to last only a day.

But the menorah miraculously stayed alight for eight days. This became known as the miracle of the oil.

Lighting the Menorah

Children and a menorah - Photo by Howard Sandler ©

It is because of this miracle that candles are lit from right to left during Hanukkah.

On day one, the first candle is lit; on the second night Jews light two candles, and the pattern continues. By the eighth night, all eight candles are alight. They are lit from a separate candle, the Shamash or servant candle.

During Hanukkah Jews follow simple religious rituals in addition to their regular daily prayers from the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book.

They recite three blessings during the eight-day festival. On the first night, they recite three and on subsequent nights they say the first two.

The blessings are said before the candles are lit. After the candles are lit, they recite the Hanerot Halalu prayer and then sing a hymn.

Traditional Hanukkah foods

Potato pancakes and deep-fried doughnuts are traditional Hanukkah treats.

Fried food in particular reminds Jews of the miracle of the oil and the candles that burned for eight days after the Maccabees won back the temple in Jerusalem.

Dairy products are often eaten during Hanukkah. The tradition has its roots in the story of Judith (Yehudit) who saved her village from the Syrians by making an offering of cheese and wine to the governor of the enemy troops.

Judith encouraged the governor to get drunk. After he collapsed on the floor, she beheaded him with his own sword and took his head back to the village in a basket.

When the Syrian troops discovered their governor had been beheaded, they fled.

Playing dreidel

Two dreidels ©

It is customary to play games at Hanukkah. The most common game uses a dreidel and is a popular way of helping children to remember the great miracle.

A dreidel is a spinning top with a different Hebrew letter inscribed on each of its four sides.

The four letters form an acronym that means: 'A great miracle happened here.'

The stakes are usually chocolate coins but sometimes pennies, peanuts or raisins are also used.

Each player puts a coin in the pot and takes it in turns to spin the dreidel. The letter on which the dreidel stops determines each player's score.

Other games include trying to knock other players' dreidels down and trying to spin as many dreidels as possible at any one time.

Giving gifts

The exchange of gifts or gelt is another old and cherished Hanukkah custom that dates back to at least the Middle Ages, possibly earlier.

Gelt is the Yiddish term for money. Modern day gelt includes saving bonds, cheques and chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.

Find out more

• Quizzes - test your Hanukkah knowledge