2. No. 1
It’s not Christmas!
Even though Chanukah tends to occur around the same time as Christmas,
it is not the Jewish equivalent of Christmas.
3. No. 2
It commemorates the rededication of the
Second Temple in the second century BCE by the
Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire
The Maccabees were the leaders
of a Jewish rebel army that took
control of Judea, which at the
time had been a province of the
Seleucid Empire.
4. No. 3
We observe the ‘festival of lights’ by kindling a unique
candelabrum, 9 branched menorah or chanukiah, over 8
nights, lighting one additional light on each day. The 9th
light, which stands apart is known as the shamash.
They come in all shapes and sizes!
Traditional to modern.
5. No. 4
The story of Chanukah is post biblical and
commemorates the miracle where a flask of oil found in
the ruins lit the menorah for 8 days when it appeared to
only be sufficient for one.
Now that’s what you call efficient!
6. No. 5
Chanukah has many associated rituals but is not a
“Shabbat-like” holy day in that there is no requirement
to refrain from activities prohibited on Shabbat
7. No. 6
There are additions to the daily prayers during
Chanukah and we read from the Torah each day.
On the first seven days of
Chanukah we read of the sacrifices
and gifts offered by the first seven
tribal leaders. On the eighth day we
read of the offerings of the
remaining five leaders, and we
continue with the next portion,
reading about G-d's commandment
to Aaron to kindle the Menorah in
the Tabernacle.
8. No. 7
It is customary to eat fried foods including latkes
(pancakes) and doughnuts.
No dieting allowed!
9. No. 8
The dreidel (or sevivon in Hebrew) is a four sided
spinning top with letters printed on each side; ‘a
great miracle happened there’. I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!
Chorus
Oh - dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!
It has a lovely body
With legs so short and thin
And when my dreidel's tired
It drops and then I win!
Chorus
My dreidel's always playful
It loves to dance and spin
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, let's begin!
10. No. 9
Chanukah gelt (Yiddish for money) is often given
to children.
Parents often give children
chocolate gelt to play dreidel
with. In terms of actual gelt
(money), parents and
grandparents or other relatives
may give sums of money as an
official Chanukah gift.
