What does Chanukah Mean?

Chanukah or Hanukkah is the Hebrew term for rededication.

It is celebrated for eight days in honor of the Jewish victory and the miracle of the oil lasting for 8 days to rededicate the temple

When Does Chanukah Begin?

Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the month of Kislev in the Jewish calendar (November/December).

This year Chanukah begins at sundown December 1st

What is a Menorah?A Menorah is a very special arrangement of nine candles.

Eight of the candles are for each night of Chanukah, and the highest candle, known as the Shamash or "servant", is used to light the other candles.

What is a Dreidel?

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side. In America the letters stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There".

In Israel the letters mean "A Miracle Happened Here"

Traditional Chanukah Foods

Potato Pancakes

This is a traditional food eaten during Chanukah. Potato latkes are grated potato patties fried in oil. Most of the traditional Chanukah foods are fried or cooked in oil, to remind us of the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the Temple.

Traditional Chanukah FoodsSufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts)

These sugar-covered, jam-filled doughnuts are very popular in Israel during Chanukah. The doughnuts are dropped into hot oil without being shaped and therefore come out in odd shapes - the funnier the better!

Chanukah gelt and gifts

Have your parents or grandparents ever given you Chanukah gelt? If so, you are like thousands, maybe even millions, of lucky Jewish kids around the world!

Chanukah gelt and gifts Gelt is Yiddish for ‘money’ and Chanukah gelt is real coins or chocolate wrapped with gold foil. People say this custom started about three hundred years ago in Poland. During Chanukah parents there used to give money to their children’s teachers. Soon they also started giving small coins to their own children, as a reward for studying hard.

A Susan Ging-Lent Production