Hanukkah
Your guide to Hanukkah history, traditions, recipes, and more!
Quick Facts
Meaning of Name: “Dedication”
Transliterations: Channukah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hannukah, Hanuka, Hanukah, Hanukka
English Name: Festival of Lights
Jewish Calendar Dates: 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet
Duration: Eight days
Origin of Hanukkah: The victory of the Maccabees, 165 BC.
Dates
Hanukkah starts at sundown on
December 25, 2024
and ends at sundown on
January 2, 2025
History
Hanukkah, meaning “Dedication,” recalls a dark time in the history of our people and our miraculous deliverance from that darkness. This eight-day holiday commemorates the Maccabees’ victory over the armies of Antiochus Epiphanes when God preserved and protected His people through the heroic actions of this small band of Jewish guerrilla fighters.
Tradition
On Hanukkah, we light the menorah each night at sunset and recite special blessings. We also give gifts, sing songs, play dreidel, and eat lots of great food.
Lighting the Menorah
On Hanukkah, we light the menorah each night at sunset, and recite a blessing. On each successive night we light an additional candle, using a ninth candle, the shammos (the center candle, mounted above the others) to light each one.
Playing Dreidel
Everyone is given gelt for “gambling” chips. Each person takes turns spinning the dreidel; depending on which Hebrew letter of the four faces turns up, they either get nothing (nun), win all (ganz), win half the pot (halb), or put in some gelt (shin).
Gift Giving
It’s become customary to give children gifts on each night of Hanukkah. Some see this as innocent fun; others decry it as imitating the consumerism of Christmas. Either way, we can remember the purpose of Hanukkah is to celebrate God’s faithfulness and our people’s history of resilience.
Hanukkah Recipes
Hanukkah wouldn’t be a celebration without the food! It’s traditional to eat foods made with oil on Hanukkah because of the miracle of the oil. Here are three of our favorite recipes for this holiday to enjoy.
Interfaith Celebrations
The December Dilemma
I don’t know where I first heard the term “December dilemma,” but it accurately describes a Jewish conundrum at this time of year.
Moms & Tots Interfaith Hanukkah
This is a special interfaith holiday celebration for children five and under! At this 30-minute event, your tot will learn the story of Hanukkah, dance to some holiday music, and enjoy the traditional lighting of the Hanukkah candles!
8 Tips for Involving Your Non-Jewish Partner This Hanukkah
Hanukkah in the New Testament
As Jewish followers of Jesus, we know that no light shines brighter than the hope we have in our Messiah, the “light of the world.” He came as a servant, the shamash to illuminate our world.
“Then came Hanukkah; it was winter in Jerusalem. Yeshua was walking in the Temple around Solomon’s Colonnade.”
(John 10:22–23 TLV)
