Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Light and is celebrated in November or December. In 2024, it will be celebrated on the 25th December and for the eight days following.
The festival celebrates a miracle that happened over 2000 years ago. The Jewish people fought the Greeks, who had banned them from worshipping freely and wanted them to worship the Greek Gods instead. They won the war, despite having a much smaller army but when they returned to their temple, it had been destroyed by the Greeks. After the Jewish people repaired their temple, they lit a lamp and dedicated it to God. There was only enough oil to keep the flame alight for one day, but somehow the flame stayed burning for 8 days- it was a miracle!
How is Hanukkah celebrated?
Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting the menorah every evening. One flame is lit each day, so by the eighth day, all 8 candles or oil lamps are alight. This signifies the 8 days that the oil lamps burned for during the miracle. The ninth candle is used to light the other flames and is called the shamash, which means helper or servant.
Hanukkah is also celebrated by giving small presents to children, playing a popular game called dreidel and families singing traditional songs and eating special foods.
What special foods are eaten during Hanukkah?
Food often plays a special role in celebrating festivals and Hanukkah is no different. Foods that are cooked in oil are particularly important as it reminds Jewish people of the miracle of the lamp. Pancakes, sufganiyot (fried doughnuts) and latkes (grated potato pancakes) are all enjoyed during the festival.
Why not try making our PhunkyFoods recipe Baked Sweet Potato Latkes?
Another fun food activity is to make a menorah using fruit and vegetables. Be creative preparing the food into different shapes to create the menorah and the nine flames. This could be on a plate or standing up using cocktail sticks and wooden skewers as supports.