Happy Hannukah! This year, Hannukah begins December 7th at sundown to December 15th.
The Story of Hannukah:
The story of Hannukah starts when a small army of Jewish rebels called the Maccabees overthrew a Greek-Syrian occupation of Israel. After the Maccabees overthrew the Greek ruler, they started re-dedicating the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which the Greeks had ruined, they found only enough oil for one night. Miraculously, it lasted 8 days, which is why Hannukah lasts 8 nights.
Food:
Since the miracle of Hannukah revolves around oil, foods eaten during Hannukah are often cooked in oil. The most common is latkes, a potato pancake. Other foods include brisket, kugel, sufganiyot, and gelt.
How Hannukah is celebrated:
Hanukkah is celebrated with family and friends. It is time to enjoy the company of loved ones, with lots of light and oil. The menorah is lit every night, one candle for each night, and a shamash, the middle candle that lights the others. People often give gifts to the people they love on Hannukah as well. A common game called dreidel is played during Hannukah. Dreidel is a game where a group of people go around spinning a dreidel and take and give things such as gelt, a chocolate coin. The four sides of a dreidel determine what you do. If נ (nun) is facing up, the player does nothing. If ג (gimel) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot. If ה (hei) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. If ש (shin) is facing up, the player adds one of their game pieces to the pot.
Hannukah, the festival of lights, is a time for people to come together and celebrate a miracle. Enjoy delicious food, fun games, and time with the people you care about. Happy Hannukah!
