Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights

Hanukkah is the festival of lights.

 …celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, of purity over adulteration, of spirituality over materiality. Hanukkah

Hanukkah or Chanukah  Hanukkah is in December.  Jewish families celebrate this holiday for eight days.  This year Hanukkah is December 16-24, 2014.

The Story of Hanukkah: The Maccabees  In the 2 nd century B.C., the Maccabees refuged to worship the Greek gods.  They fought King Antiochus and his army and got their temple back.  The Jews lit the eternal light with little oil that lasted eight days.

an ancient Syrian army

a Jewish temple

oil

an oil lamp

A Menorah

 On the first night of Hanukkah, the family lights one candle.  They say prayers and tell the story of Hanukkah.  On the second night, they light two candles.  On the third night, they light three candles, and so on for eight days.

Some Hanukkah Customs The Dreidel and Chocolate Candy Called Gelt Children play a game with the dreidel and gelt. Some families give money and gifts to children on Hanukkah. The dreidel is a spinning top. It has the Hebrew letters nun, gimmel, hei and shin.

Hanukkah Food  Families eat fried food such as latkes with applesauce and sour cream (potato pancakes) and sufganiot (doughnut).