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This article was co-authored by staff writer, Hunter Rising. Hunter Rising is a staff writer based in Los Angeles. He has more than three years of experience in writing and working. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin – Stout and a minor in English Writing.
How To Celebrate Hanukkah
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How Do You Celebrate Hanukkah With Young Children?
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Hanukkah, is a Jewish holiday, also known as the Jewish “Festival of Lights”, because its focus is on the lighting of the eight Hanukkah candles during the eight days of the festival. Although not one of the more serious holy days of the Jewish tradition, it is still traditionally celebrated with specific foods and ceremonies.
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This article was co-authored by staff writer, Hunter Rising. Hunter Rising is a staff writer based in Los Angeles. He has more than three years of experience in writing and working. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin – Stout and a minor in English Writing. This article has been viewed 481,820 times.
To celebrate Hanukkah, or the Jewish Festival of Lights, check a Hebrew calendar to find out when Hanukkah is this year. This eight-day celebration always begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which can fall anywhere from late November to late December. One of the most important parts of celebrating Hanukkah is the lighting of the menorah. On each of the eight nights of the holiday, light the candles at or shortly after sunset. Start with the rightmost candle and add a new candle each night, moving to the left with each subsequent candle. As you add more candles, light each new candle first before lighting the older ones. Use the center candle, called the shamash candle, to light the rest. Place the menorah in a visible location, such as in a window or outside your door, to share its light with others. As you light the menorah each night, recite the traditional Hanukkah blessing. Recite all three blessings on the first night, but only the first two on the remaining nights. Then sing or recite the hymn Hanerot Halalu. In addition to lighting the menorah, you can also celebrate Hanukkah by giving small gifts to children in your family, playing dreidel games, and eating traditional foods like latkes and challah. Above all, spend time with your loved ones and look for ways to do good works for others. The Talmud describes Hanukkah as a celebration of “praise and thanksgiving” in commemoration of the miraculous overthrow of the Syrian Greeks, the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the only Cross made of oil that lasted eight days.
The festive atmosphere of Hanukkah comes almost entirely from domestic rituals and customs and is dominated by light as a metaphor for spiritual freedom. This is highlighted with special holiday songs, games and food.
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The defining act of Hanukkah is lighting the lights of the Hanukkah, the eight-branched candelabra (often referred to as the Hanukkah Menorah). These lights, which can be either candles or small oil cups with floating wicks, grow in power over the eight days of Hanukkah, with the addition of a candle or lit wick each night. One light is added each night to fulfill the concept of lo moridim ba-kodesh (one does not diminish in brightness). Since the purpose of these Hanukkah lights is the public announcement of the Hanukkah miracle, the menorahs are traditionally lit in a place where the candles can be seen from the doorway, near a window or door. However, if that public placement of the menorah presents a danger, whether of fire or anti-Semitism, the lights can be lit elsewhere in the house.
Because the Hanukkah lights fulfill a religious obligation, the rabbis forbade using them for any other purpose, including Torah study. Therefore, each menorah has a ninth light, the shamash, or “helper”, whose purpose is to provide light and keep the other candles burning. The candles lit after sunset should traditionally burn for at least half an hour after nightfall. On Friday evening, the Hanukkah lights are lit before the Shabbat candles. In some homes, the head of the household lights a single menorah for the entire family, while in others each member of the family lights their own menorah.
Both Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of Eastern European descent) and Sephardic Jews (Jews of Spanish or Mediterranean descent) recite two blessings each night that affirm the command to light the Hanukkah lights and remember the Hanukkah miracle. An additional blessing said on the first night of most Jewish festivals, the Shehechiyanu, thanks God for enabling one to be alive for the celebration. Click here for the text of the blessings.
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After lighting the candles, it is traditional to recite the Haneirot Hallalu, verses that state that “those candles” are holy and it is not allowed to use them except to look at them. Ashkenazim continue to sing the Maoz Tzur, a hymn that remembers various salvations in Jewish history, while the Sephardim recite Psalm 30, a psalm for the dedication of the Temple.
Another reminder of the miracle of the legendary cross of oil comes through the smell and taste of oil that permeates special Hanukkah foods – potato latkes (pancakes) for Ashkenazi Jews and Sufganiyot (jelly donuts) for Sephardic Jews. During Hanukkah, there is an additional prayer, Al Hanisim (“for the miracle”), which expresses thanks to God for the miraculous salvation of the Jews, and the Birkat Hamazon (grace after the meal) and the Amidah (standing or silent prayer) added .
Jewish law forbids work for one hour after candlelight. This period is traditionally used for “family learning,” specifically for children to learn about Hanukkah through study and discussion. Families also use the period after candlelight for games, singing and gift-giving.
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A favorite Hanukkah activity is a game of chance played with a four-sided spinning wheel known in the Jewish language as
(Sevivon in Hebrew). Legend attributes this custom to the Jews at the time of the Hanukkah story, who would grab a dreidel and start playing when Syrian soldiers entered the house during Torah study or prayer. In fact, the custom is probably much later. In the diaspora, four Hebrew letters – nun, gimel, hey, and shin – the sides of the dreidel; they represent the words nes gadol hayah sham, which means “a great miracle happened there.” In Israel the last letter is changed to peh, which represents the word po, ”here,” with the resulting explanation, “a great miracle happened here.”
Hanukkah is also a time of joyous singing of traditional Ashkenazic and Sephardic songs, as well as more recent songs composed in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere. Some families enjoy decorating their homes for Hanukkah.
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With the approach of Christmas, Hanukkah emerged in the United States as a central gift-giving season for Jews, although in Europe the tradition would have been to give children only raisins, nuts and small amounts of Hanukkah gelt (“money”). Today, Gelt usually refers to chocolate coins, which are often used as a front for the Dreidel pot (if they are not struck first).
Today, some Jews recommend giving children gifts on Purim instead of Hanukkah, because Esther’s role actually requires that Purim be celebrated with mishloah manot, “the giving of gifts” (even if these are traditionally gifts of food), and matanot l ‘ evyonim, “gifts for the poor.”
Explore the history of Hanukkah, global traditions, food and more with My Jewish Learning’s “All About Hanukkah” email series. Sign up to travel through Hanukkah and delve into the Festival of Lights.
Ways To Celebrate Hanukkah
Ashkenazi Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounce: AHSH-ken-AH-zee, Origin: Hebrew, Jews of Central and Eastern European origin. dreidel Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounced: DRAY-dul, Origin: Yiddish, spinning wheel, with four sides, each marked with a different Hebrew letter (Nun, Gimel, Heu and Shin), it is played at Hanukkah. Hanukkah Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounced: KHAH-nuh-kah, also ha-nei-KAH, an eight-day festival celebrating the Maccabean victory over the Greeks and the subsequent rededication of the temple. Fall in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which usually corresponds to December. Purim Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounce: PUR-im, the Feast of Lots, Origin: Hebrew, a joyous celebration that recounts the salvation of the Jews from a threatened massacre during the Persian period. Sephardic Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounce: seh-FAR-dik, Origin: Hebrew, describes Jews descended from the Jews of Spain. Torah Your browser does not support the Audio element. Pronounced: TORE-uh, Origin: Hebrew, the five books of Moses Hanukkah is almost upon us. Every year is Hanukkah season
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