For Jews around the world, Chanukah is a time to celebrate religious freedom, the underlying principle of the Jewish festival of lights.
A Brief Story of the Miracle of Chanukah
Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, a small band of Jewish patriots, over the mighty armies of Syrian King Antiochus. When they restored the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Maccabees found one jar of pure oil, enough to keep the menorah burning for just one day. But a miracle happened, and the oil burned for eight days. Each night of the holiday, we light one more candle, exchange gifts, play dreidel, and eat fried latkes and donuts to remember this victory for religious freedom and the miracle of the oil.
Important Chanukah Symbols to Know
Jewish families light the hanukia (or Hanukkah menorah) in their home to commemorate the miracle of oil. On each night of Hanukkah, the family lights each candle using the head candle called the shamus.
- Hanukah - Festival of lights - the word means "dedication"
- Menorah - eight branch candle holder (the Hebrew word is "hanukkiah")
- Shamash - helper candle used to light the other candles
- Dreidel - spinning top with four Hebrew letter (nun, gimmel, hey, shin) which stand for "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham," "A Great Miracle Happened There". The Hebrew word for dreidel is "sevivon".
- Latkes - pancakes
- Judah Maccabee - hero of the Hanukkah story
Chanukah Traditions - How to Play Spin the Dreidel
Yiddish version
Each player puts a nut (or whatever) into the "pot". Then each player takes a turn spinning the dreidle. Each of the four letters on the dreidle have a different result.
When the dreidle stops spinning, the letter facing up determines what happens--
- Gimel - the player takes all the nuts in the pot.
- Heh - the player wins half of the pot.
- Shin - the player must add a nut to the pot.
- Nun - the player wins nothing.
Hebrew version
The Hebrew version is different: The letters stand for Ness Gadol Haya Sham - "A Great Miracle Happened There." On Israeli dreidles the letters are Nes, Gadol, Haya, Poh - "A Great Miracle Happened Here."
Chanukah is a festive time of the Jewish calendar. The traditions, symbols and history of Hanukah make it one of children's most favorite Jewish holidays. Still, many Jews are a little frustrated that the story of the Jewish festival of lights isn't as well known as the other more significant Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover.
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