Happy Hanukkah!

[trope]

The Sixth Day of Hanukkah



On the sixth day of Hanukkah, a new candle is placed at the far right, and five more are added to the left of it. The first two blessings are said over the candles, and then the shamash candle is lit and used to light the other candles, left to right.

Often after lighting the candles, families will sit down to play with a dreidel. The dreidel is a four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side. The letters are: Nun, Gimel, Hey, and Shin. The letters are an acronym for Nes Gadol Haya Sham, which means “A Great Miracle Happened There”. In Israel, the letter Shin is replaced with Pe, to change the translation to Nes Gadol Haya Po (or “A Great Miracle Happened Here”). It is essentially a gambling game, though generally it is played with chocolate gelt instead of money.

In the game, the letters tell you what to do:
Nun: Nothing; do nothing
Gimel: All; take everything from the pot
Hey: Half; take half of the pot
Shin: Put in; generally put in two

Feel free to ask any questions, guys!

 

[andcuriouser]

(I'm posting this because Matt was busy yesterday, and it is now Shabbat, so he isn't using the computer)

The Seventh Day of Hanukkah



On the seventh day of Hanukkah, a new candle is placed at the far right, and six more are added to the left of it. The first two blessings are said over the candles, and then the shamash candle is lit and used to light the other candles, moving left to right.

As with many holidays, there are traditional foods to eat during Hanukkah. The first are latkes, which are pancakes made from grated potatoes. Though some people like them with sour cream or applesauce, they are traditionally eaten without garnish. The latkes are fried in oil. Another food eaten during Hanukkah are sufganiyot. It’s essentially a jelly doughnut (without the hole). The dough is rolled into balls, fried, and then injected with jelly or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar. They taste best when they’re fresh and still warm. A common theme with Hanukkah food is that most of it is fried. This is a reference to the Miracle of the Oil, where the oil burned for eight days.

 

[andcuriouser]

The Eighth Day of Hanukkah





On the eighth and final day of Hanukkah, a new candle is placed at the far right, and seven more are added to the left. The first two blessings are said, and then the shamash candle is lit and used to light the other candles, left to right. Every candle on the Hanukkah menorah is now lit.

Hanukkah is actually not a very important holiday on the Jewish calendar, but is celebrated so extensively most likely because it generally coincides with Christmas in North America. Hanukkah is actually not even mentioned in the Tanakh (Jewish bible)! Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which generally fall late November, December, or rarely early January.

Thanks for listening to me. Feel free to ask any questions about Hanukkah or Judaism or whatever.