I’m an international student, and I didn’t know anything about — well, I’ve never even heard of Hanukkah before I met my best friend. And let me tell you, she’s crazy about it. So, here are a few basic facts and traditions that I’ve learned from her — you might want to know them, too!
1. Lighting the Menorah and Saying a Prayer
This is probably the mostly widely known Hanukkah tradition: lighting candles that sit on the menorah. The menorah holds nine candles in total; eight of them symbolize the number of days that the Temple lantern blazes, and the ninth and middle candle — the Shamash — is used to light up the other eight. Families light up one additional candle over the eight days of Hanukkah while saying prayers and singing songs together.
2. Playing Dreidel
This is a super fun game, and it’s easy to learn even if you’ve never played before. There are four Hebrew letters on each side of the dreidel; together they mean “a great miracle happened there,” which refers to the miracle of the oil, Hanukkah’s origin story. Usually, players get 10 chocolate or real coins to start the game. First, everyone places one of their coins in the center. Then the first person spins the dreidel and and act according to what’s facing up once it stops spinning:
Nun (“nothing”) = do not need to do anything
Gimel (“everything”) = take all the coins in the center
Hey (“half”) = take half of the coins
Shin (“put in”) = put one coin in the center
The game ends when one player obtains all the coins.
3. Eating Latkes and Sufganiyot
Besides lighting up the menorah and playing dreidel, making and eating traditional foods is also one of the best parts of celebrating the holiday. Latkes and sufganiyot are two of the most popular traditional foods people eat during Hanukkah. Latkes are potato pancakes — usually made with a mixture of shredded potatoes, onion, egg, flour and seasoning— with applesauce and sour cream. Sufganiyot are jelly-filled donuts, and they enjoyed and loved by children around the globe. Both of them are intentionally deep-fried in oil to celebrate the miracle of the oil.
Happy Hanukkah and enjoy the holidays!