Chanukkah (also commonly spelled as Hanukkah) is a Jewish holiday established to commemorate the lighting of the menorah at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the victorious Jews led by Judah Maccabee in 165 B.C.
The festival lasts for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev. The duration of the festival corresponds to the number of days the menorah was kept miraculously alight by the oil which was meant to last for only one day.
Hence, today, Jews celebrate the Hanukkah tradition by lighting the candles in a menorah for eight days.
Jews in various parts of the world enjoy traditional foods during Chanukkah, usually with oil ingredients in remembrance of the miraculous oil in the temple at Jerusalem. Jewish Americans have latkes, which are a type of potato pancakes, yet while in Israel, Jews partake of sufganiya, a kind of pastry filled with jelly that has been cooked in oil.
Dairy products such as cheese are also popular fares. For children, there are traditional Jewish games that they can play as part of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday.
One of them is Spin the Dreidel; the dreidel is a four-sided top with an engraving of a Hebrew letter on each side, which are initials of the words in the sentence “A great miracle happened there.” As well as games, traditional Hanukkah songs are sung.
Despite being a relatively minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, Chanukkah enjoys a degree of prominence, especially in North America. In view of the sizeable population, secular Jews wanted a Jewish alternative to Christmas gift-giving, which is also celebrated at roughly the same period.
Though giving “gelt” or coins to Jewish children remains a Hanukkah tradition, many Jewish children are also being given other gifts so that they do not feel being left out of the Christmas gift giving merriment.
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