Table of Contents Part I: Hanukkah Basics............................................................................................3 The Hanukkah Story ...........................................................................................................3 Three Core Concepts............................................................................................................6 Hanukkah Glossary..............................................................................................................8 FAQs ..................................................................................................................................10 Part II: Traditional Hanukkah Foods ......................................................................12 Part III: Decorating For Hanukkah..........................................................................16 Part IV: Hanukkah Blessings...................................................................................19 Part V: Hanukkah Candle-Lighting Tips ..................................................................21 Part VI: Hanukkah Songs........................................................................................22 Part VII: How to Play Dreidel...................................................................................27 Part VIII: Hanukkah Checklist ................................................................................29 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................30 More Fun Stuff from Jewish Holidays in a Box........................................................33 Part I: Hanukkah Basics The Hanukkah Story Hanukkah is a joyous eight-day festival commemorating the victory of the Maccabees over enemies who wanted us to give up our religion. Over 2,000 years ago, Greek kings – ruling from Damascus in Syria – were in charge of the land of Judea (the land of ancient Israel). One Greco-Syrian king named Antiochus told the Jewish people who were living there that they could not pray to their God, that they could not celebrate Jewish holidays, and that they could not study Torah. Citizens were forced to speak Greek and worship Greek gods. But the Jews did not accept this. Mattathias, a Hasmonean, opposed what was going on. He and his five sons, led by Judah Maccabee, organized a group of resistance fighters called the Maccabees. Even though the group was small, and they were fighting a powerful enemy, the Maccabees finally succeeded – after three years – in pushing the Syrians out of Judea. Once Jerusalem was liberated, the Jews entered the Holy Temple. When they did, they discovered that the temple was full of statues of Greek gods. So they started cleaning and polishing, taking out the Greek symbols and statues. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 3 But when Judah and his group finished cleaning the temple and wanted to rededicate it, they discovered that there was only one vat of pure oil to rekindle the ner tamid, the eternal flame that was supposed to burn day and night. So on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, they took the one vat of purified oil that was left and lit the menorah. That amount of oil should only have lasted a single day. So they knew that they needed to begin immediately to purify more oil, because this process took a week. But there was a miracle. That one vat of oil lasted not for one day, but for eight days. By that time, the new, purified oil was ready. That’s why we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days. Just a note about purifying oil: if you use a menorah with candles, or especially if you use an electric menorah, it's hard to make the connection between Hanukkah and oil. A book by Allison Ofanansky called Harvest of Light takes you through the steps of how an Israeli family harvests olives to be processed into oil – from gathering and sorting olives to pressing them and then, finally, using that special oil to light the menorah. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 4 This is also why the Hanukkah menorah has eight candles, plus a place for the shamash or helper candle. Because it was the oil that created the miracle, we eat latkes (potato pancakes) or sufganiyot (doughnuts) fried in oil. And we celebrate by lighting a menorah (or chanukiah), singing special songs and blessings, and playing dreidel and other games. Some people believe that the latke tradition began because Jewish villagers would quickly fry batches of them to feed the Maccabees when they came through town en route to fight the Syrians. However, many prefer to emphasize that Hanukkah commemorates religious freedom, rather than the military victory, because Jews do not glorify war. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 5 Three Core Concepts From this basic story come the three core concepts for Hanukkah that we suggest sharing with young children: light, miracle, and oil. Here are some examples of how to bring each concept to life in your home: #1 | Light • Light Hanukkah candles during the eight nights of the holiday. • Place the menorah in a window (facing the dark of the winter sky), showcasing the twinkling of the lit candles. • Turn off the overhead lights in your room and just watch the flames dance. #2 | Miracle • Because we light one more candle each night of Hanukkah (i.e., one on the first night, two on the second night), we show how the miracle of the little vat of oil also gets greater every night. • The letters on the dreidel stand for the phrase, “a great miracle happened there.” Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 6 #3 | Oil • Fry latkes (potato pancakes) in oil. Your house will smell wonderful! • Serve doughnuts (fried in oil), especially jelly doughnuts. • Reinforce that the one jug of oil in the ner tamid in the Holy Temple lasted for eight days. • If you happen to have an oil-burning menorah (rather than one that burns candles or is electric), the connection to the oil is even easier to explain. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 7 Hanukkah Glossary Chanukah / Hanukkah [pronounced Chah-noo-kah] The eight-day holiday that begins on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, commemorating the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. The word itself means “dedication.” It usually begins in December, but can start as early as late November. Chanukiah [pronounced Chah-noo-kee-yah] A special candleholder for Hanukkah with places for a total of nine candles: eight regular candles and one shamash (or helper) candle. Dreidel [pronounced Dray-duhl] A top with four sides. On each side, there is a Hebrew letter – nun (standing for “nes” or miracle); gimel (standing for “gadol” or great); hey (standing for “haya” or happened); shin (standing for “sham” or there). The whole phrase is “A great miracle happened here. Latke [pronounced Lot-kuh] A pancake fried in oil. The most common type is the potato latke, fried in oil to remind us of the Hanukkah miracle of the rededication of the Temple, when a tiny bit of oil lasted for eight days. There are also carrot, zucchini, and sweet potato latkes. Gelt Money. Also refers to the foil-covered chocolate coins that are a traditional treat during Hanukkah. Maccabee [pronounced Mah-kah-bee or Mack-a-bee] Hammer. The Maccabees were a Jewish national liberation movement that fought for and won independence from Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Maccabees founded the Hasmonean royal dynasty and established Jewish independence in the land of Israel for about one hundred years, from 164 BCE to 63 BCE. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 8 Mattathias [pronounced Matt-uh-thigh-us] A Jew from Modi’in who resisted when asked to reject Jewish practice. He became the leader of a rebel army with his five sons, including Judah Maccabee. His family became known as the Maccabees (from the Hebrew word for “hammer”), because it was said that they struck hammer blows against their enemies. Menorah [pronounced Muh-no-ruh] A candelabrum with either seven or nine branches. The nine-branched version is used to celebrate Hanukkah. The seven- branched candelabrum was used in the Temple in the old city of Jerusalem and is the official emblem of the State of Israel. Most people, though, use the word menorah to refer to the Hanukkah candelabrum. Sufganiyot [pronounced Soof-gah-nee-yawt] Jelly doughnuts. Celebrate Hanukkah: How to Light Up Your Holiday | Ellen Zimmerman | www.JewishHolidaysInABox.com 9 F A Q s Q. Is Hanukkah the Jewish Christmas? A. Even though Hanukkah often comes in December, and even though both holidays typically include gift-giving, Hanukkah and Christmas are two completely distinct holidays. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Hanukkah acknowledges that a small army defeated a larger, Syrian army that tried to force Jews to abandon their religion. It celebrates the miracle of oil that should only have lasted one day, but lasted for eight days Hanukkah is about keeping Judaism alive. Q. Is there such a thing as a Hanukkah bush? A. No. Christmas trees are displays that celebrate Christmas. Jews celebrate Hanukkah by lighting candles, eating traditional foods like potato latkes and doughnuts, singing Hanukkah songs and playing dreidel. Some Jewish families also