HOW TO CELEBRATE AT HOME IN 2020

@yourjewishlife CONTENTS GO TO PAGE:

What date is Hanukkah in 2020? 03 How do we celebrate Hanukkah in lockdown? 03 What exactly is Hanukkah? 05

What do we do on Hanukkah? 06

What food do we eat during Hanukkah? 07

Hanukkah blessings & prayers - and when to say them 09 Hanukkah songs 11 Hanukkah movies 13 How to wish someone a Happy Hanukkah 13 Is there a ‘right’ way to celebrate Hanukkah? 14 This year, the first night of Hanukkah is Thursday December 10, 2020

That’s right, Hanukkah is starting soon! Or is it Chanukah? Or Hanukkah?

Sometimes getting the proper spelling of a Hebrew word transliterated into English gets tricky, especially when far more than a trio of options prove technically correct. Hanukkah is the most common spelling, so that’s what we’re going with!

Hanukkah in lockdown

Chances are, you’re spending more time at home this year than ever before. And while being distant from loved ones, and not being able to attend Hanukkah parties or public lightings of menorahs may not be quite the way you would’ve hoped to spend Hanukkah this year, there are some upsides – one being that it’s a perfect opportunity to make your home a warm, cosy, joy-filled place to celebrate Hanukkah!

Read on for loads of easy ideas and they’re for you whether you’re a Hanukkah regular, or you’ve never ever done this before, I want you to celebrate it beautifully and meaningfully.

HANUKKAH TABLE RUNNER: buy it here 3 How do I feel part of a community during the pandemic?

Hanukkah will be different this year, with communities unable to get together in the way they’ve done so for thousands of years, and Hanukkah parties out of the agenda, but don’t worry - I’VE GOT YOU COVERED!

I’m hosting a free ‘8 Days of Hanukkah’ Festival inside a special pop- up Facebook group to bring us all together (complete with a cook- a-long, recipes, fun games, music playlists, table decor, and also more symbolic themes of giving, dedication and finding light in dark times).

And of course community is going to be at the heart of it!

You’re guaranteed to make new Jewish and Jew-ish BFFs, plus there’ll be gift giveaways every day (it’s the season of giving after all!)

Simply click here to register for the ‘8 Days of Hanukkah’ Festival. It is 100% free!

I LOVE YOU A LATKE TEA TOWEL: buy it here 4 So what exactly is Hanukkah?

Hanukkah is actually one of our least religious holidays. It coincides with Christmas, so people often assume it’s a religious holiday. But Hanukkah (Hebrew for “dedication) is a celebration of a historical event.

It commemorates the victory of the over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of rededicating the Holy Temple in and restoring its menorah, or lamp.

The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple lamp for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.

So we celebrate this miracle for the eight nights it lasted to celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.

In 2020, Hanukkah starts at sunset on Thursday December 10 and ends at sunset on Friday December 18.

SCENTED CANDLE - HANUKKAH: buy it here

{Smells like potato , fresh out of the frying pan with applesauce. Boxes of warm jelly donuts from the corner market} 5 What do we do on Hanukkah?

We celebrate Hanukkah at home by lighting the Menorah (each night we light one additional candle to the number from the previous night), playing dreidel (we’ll do this virtually inside the ‘8 Days of Hanukkah’ Festival!) and eating special foods unique to Hanukkah (see p.7)

Some of us also sing Hanukkah songs (see p.X) or exchange gifts (see p.X) after lighting the menorah, which is also called a Hanukkiah. We’ll be doing ALL of these things together inside the Hanukkah event!

LIGHT UP MENORAH HANUKKAH SWEATSHIRT: buy it here

6 What food do we eat during Hanukkah?

Most have special foods associated with them. After all, we are ALL about the food!

Most Hanukkah foods are deep-fried in oil, symbolizing the oil from the menorah used in the Temple. These include (but are not limited to)

• Latkes (or potato pancakes) with applesauce or sour cream as a topping.

• jelly doughnuts (also know as sufganiyot [pronounced soof-ga-nee-yot])

• Bimuelos (a Sephardic delicacy of puffed fritters with an orange glaze)

• (Moroccan Doughnuts)

• Blintzes (Typically, blintzes are made of crepe-style pancakes wrapped around sweet ricotta cheese and baked)

• Chocolate gelt (a candy that gets its name from the word for money)

Also Greek traditionally make a fried fish, Cochin Jews of India prepare a fried sweet cake, Syrian and Lebanese Jews make deep-fried pancakes packed with cheese.

The common denominator is oil, but the dishes are diverse!

Have fun coming up with new traditions and making your own fried foods!

Lots of fun recipes on our fave Jewish food blog: What Jew Wanna Eat

MARZIPAN SUFGANIYOT: buy them here 7 How do we light the candles at Hanukkah?

On Hanukkah, we light a Hanukkiah, although most people, me included, incorrectly call it a menorah. (Hanukkiah is a specific type of menorah we light on Hanukkah).

There are 8 spots for candles all at the same height (representing the eight days of Hanukkah) plus one candle holder that is higher or off to the side. This candle is the “worker candle” and lights all the others.

So on the first night, we light the worker candle, or “shamash” with a match or lighter and then that worker candle lights the other candles.

Hanukkah candles must be lit just before sunset after specific prayers are recited. They are lit in a prescribed order:

1. On the first night, one candle is placed in the candle holder on the far right. The shamash is lit and used to light the first candle.

2. On the second night, another candle is added next to the first one, and both candles are lit from left to right. In other words, the newer candle is lit first.

3. Each night, another candle is added to the menorah until, on the last night of the holiday, all eight candles and the shamash are lit.

RUTH BADER GINSBURG MENORAH: buy it here 8 Hanukkah blessings and prayers – and when to say them

Before lighting the candles (but after placing them in the menorah), we recite three blessings.

1. We thank G-d for commanding us to light the lights,

2. For performing miracles,

3. And we thank G-d for allowing us to reach this season to light the candles for the first time this year.

On the first day, all of the three blessings are sung.

On all other days except Shabbat, only the first two blessings are sung.

Click here for all the blessings including transliterations.

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HANUKKAH BEDDING: buy it here 9 What’s the game called that you play on Hanukkah?

On Hanukkah, we play dreidel (and we’ll be playing it together inside our ‘8 Days of Hanukkah’ Festival!).

A dreidel is a four-sided top with four Hebrew letters on each side. The letters stand for “A Miracle Happened There.” Back during the Syrian rule, Jewish people played with the as a secretive way to study our customs and laws.

Now, it’s just a game.

Spin the dreidel and depending on what side it lands on, you will either get the full pot, half the pot, nothing, or have to add in one more to the pot.

Want to try your hand at dreidel? Here are the directions. You can purchase your own dreidels here.

WOODEN DREIDELS: buy them here

SPARKLY DREIDEL HANUKKAH EARRINGS: buy them here DRINKING DREIDELS: buy them here 10 Hanukkah songs

Hanukkah is not a holiday traditionally known for its music, but it has inspired a number of contemporary songs in English, Hebrew, and even Yiddish!

In addition, Hanukkah blessings (like other Jewish prayers) are all sung.

Two traditional songs that are sung right after the lighting of each night’s candles include Maoz Tzur (about the many times that God delivered the Jewish people from their enemies) and Sivivon Sov Sov Sov (the iconic Israeli dreidel song for Hanukkah).

You can find more well-known and much-loved Hanukkah songshere .

We’re also going to be coming up with our own Hanukkah playlists inside the ‘8 Days of Hanukkah’ Festival!

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11 Gift-giving

Gifts were not a traditional part of the Hanukkah celebration until the late 1800’s.

It was then that Christmas gift-giving became a major part of European and American culture, and Jews followed suit by adding gifts to the Hanukkah experience.

Each family has their own gift-giving tradition. While some give gifts each night, many choose a slightly different approach:

Some prefer to give money, small gifts, or edible presents (um, latkes), so that the focus can remain on Hanukkah itself rather than a big pile of presents.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the latter either. We are ALL about Your Jewish Life Your Way, so do what feels right for you!

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@yourjewishlife 12 Any Hanukkah movies?

Take your pick here (WARNING - most of them are not that great!)

How to wish someone a Happy Hanukkah

To wish someone a Happy Hanukkah, just say, “Happy Hanukkah” !

If you want to try saying it in Hebrew you could say:

Hanukkah Sameach (which means Happy Hanukkah)

Chag Sameach (which means Happy holiday)

Chag Hanukkah Sameach (which means Happy Hanukkah holiday)

You can of course also use “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greetings” as an inclusive way to say “enjoy this time of year.”

HANUKKAH MIRACLES TEA TOWEL: buy it here 13 Why do the dates of Hanukkah change every year?

The dates of Jewish holidays are determined by the ancient Hebrew (or Jewish) calendar as opposed to the Gregorian calendar that was introduced in 1582 with which you are most familiar.

The Hebrew calendar is based on a lunar cycle. So, while Hanukkah starts on the same day every year on the Hebrew calendar (25 Kislev), it doesn’t sync perfectly with the Gregorian calendar, so it has a “different” date each year.

It tends to fall somewhere between late November and late December. This year the first night ofHanukkah is Thursday December 10, 2020.

Is there a ‘right’ way to celebrate Hanukkah?

We are all about ‘Your Jewish Life Your Way’ so it’s an unequivocal no - there is no ‘right’ way to celebrate Hanukkah! Take from the guide what you wish and tag @yourjewishlife on Instagram with your celebrations so we can see what you get up to.

Chag Hanukkah Sameach!

‘LET’S GET LIT’ HANUKKAH SWEATER: buy it here 14 So how will you be celebrating the Festival of Lights? Send me a DM on @yourjewishlife and let me know! And join our free 8 Days of Hanukkah Festival right now too!

All my love,

Karen Cinnamon Founder of Your Jewish Life, Smashing The Glass and Smashing Life

Portrait of Karen Cinnamon by Claudine Hartzel Photography

With thanks to My Jewish Learning, Learn Religions and Coffee and Carpool for their Hanukkah resources used in part in this guide