During the months of fall and early winter, most people’s focus is on the holidays. One of these holidays is Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday which will be celebrated on Dec. 25 this year. However, its dates vary from late November to late December, changing every year. It occurs every year on the 25th day of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar.
The holiday lasts eight days and has many traditions that come along with it. One such tradition is lighting the menorah, a Hebrew lamp with nine branches. Each night of Hanukkah, a candle is lit by the shamash, the middle candle, until all candles are lit.
There are foods that are traditionally eaten during Hanukkah. Sweet foods such as sufganiyots, donuts filled with jelly, and rugelach, a cinnamon-y dessert shaped like a small croissant, are enjoyed during the holiday. Other traditional foods include latkes, which are fried potato pancakes, and kugel, a casserole also usually made with potato. Most foods eaten during Hanukkah are high in oil, which symbolizes the one can of oil used in the miracle when the candle burned for eight days after it was first lit.
During Hanukkah, games are also played. The most popular game is the dreidel, where you spin a four-sided spinning top to win chocolate coins. On your turn, you spin the dreidel and the side it lands on tells you what you do: take the whole pot (of chocolate coins), take half the pot, do nothing or raise the stakes to build the pot. This is a fun gambling game that players of all ages can enjoy with family and friends. However, dreidel games are not the only ones that you can play during Hanukkah.
“We play basically a Kahoot, and we have some funny prizes at the end about Hanukkah itself,” FHS freshmen Doron Mirsky said in regards to her family traditions. “It’s a trivia game pretty much.”
Songs are also sung during Hanukkah. “I Have a Little Dreidel” and “Oy Chanukah” are the most well-known songs and are usually sung by children. However, there are many other religious rhymes and songs that are sung. Other songs include “Maoz Tzur”, “Sevivon” and “Light One Candle.”
But Hanukkah is not limited to these traditions.
“[My family and I] have dinner together and light the candles,” FHS sophomore Romi Sadowsky said.
All families are different, and their traditions may vary. Not everyone participates in all aspects of Hanukkah, and some families have their own unique traditions that make the holiday even more special for them. Some people like Sadowsky do not play dreidel games, but still enjoy latkes and jelly donuts. Gifts also are given to each other on Hanukkah, but not all families participate in this aspect of the holiday.
