All About Hanukkah

All about Hanukkah - the 8 night Jewish festival of lights

It's time for the festival of lights! Hey - wait, didn't we already have a festival of light last month with Diwali? Well, yes, but that was an entirely different festival, and anyway it's winter, you really need more light this time of year. So settle in, grab your candles and get ready to find out more about the eight crazy nights of the Jewish festival called Hanukkah.

What is it?

You might see other spellings like Chanukah, Hanuka or Chanukkah - we're going with Hanukkah (say "HA-ne-kaa") - but it's okay, it's all the same thing. The word means "dedication" in Hebrew.

The history of Hanukkah goes back over 2,000 years. Back in 139 BCE, the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to liberate it. In the Temple, they built a new altar and made a new menorah. When they wanted to light it, they found they only had enough oil to light it for one day. But that lamp kept burning for eight nights and was considered a miracle. Since then a festival of lights has been celebrated every year to remember the occasion. Candles are lit for eight nights, and families eat foods cooked with oil and exchange presents.

What is a menorah?

The Hanukkah candlestick holder that has been used since the time of the temple is called a menorah (say "meh-NO-rah"). It has spots for nine candles - one for each night of Hanukkah and the extra candle, called the Shamash, is used to light all of the others. Today, the menorah is also called by a modern name - hanukkiah (say "ha-NEW-key-ah"). It's okay to use the word menorah though as most people know it better.

When is it?

The celebration moves around each year but almost always falls in the month of December. This year's celebrations start at sunset on December 22 and finish up on the night of December 30.

How is it celebrated?

Each night at sundown, family and friends gather to light another candle on the hanukkiah. Songs and prayers are often said, and then it's time to eat! To celebrate the history of the holiday many traditional dishes are cooked using lots of oil. One of the most popular Hanukkah foods is thelatke (say "LOT-kuh"). Latkes are potato pancakes, fried and then served with applesauce or sour cream. Jelly doughnuts are a popular dessert.

Hanukkah's not really about presents - except everybody really likes presents. The tradition is to give coins or even bills, called Hanukkah Gelt. There's even chocolate Hanukkah Gelt to give to children if families don't want to give them money as gifts.