Last updated on December 15th, 2023 at 09:23 pm
Hanuakkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. As the story goes, when the Jewish people went back to clean and rebuild the Temple, they only had enough oil to provide light for one night. However, that little bit of oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Also known as the “Festival of Lights,” Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. On each night, Jews light a nine-branched Menorah and add one additional candle on each night of the holiday.
Every family has their own traditions. I would like to share our families traditions with you.
The Hanukkah Table
Over the years I’ve managed to collect an array of Hannukiah’s (menorahs) of varying shapes and sizes. Some are sentimental, like the one my grandmother gave my mom before she left for college, which she later gave to me and which I will someday give to my children. Others are showpieces that we display but never light. Each of my children has their own Hanukkah menorah, and they have menorahs that they have made in preschool/religious school over the years. The Hanukkah Table is just that, a table where we display all of our menorahs. The kids love having them on display and it is where we like to gather as a family to light them during the holiday.
Fun fact: A menorah has seven branches and represents the burning bush as seen by Moses on Mount Sinai and the seven days of the week. A Hannukiah or Hanukkah Menorah has nine branches: eight for the eight nights of Hanukah and a ninth called the Shamash which lights the others.
Latke Night
No Hanukkah celebration would be complete without potato latkes, fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. We like to slather them with copious amounts of sour cream and applesauce (or in my case, ketchup!). Of the eight nights of Hanukkah, one night is always dedicated to celebrating with extended family, and another is spent celebrating with friends. While I don’t particularly enjoy working with hot oil and three kids coming in and out of the kitchen, nothing makes me happier than sharing a plate of latkes surrounded by family and friends. And it makes the house smell heavenly!
Visiting School
As a kid, it can be tough when you are the only one in your class not celebrating Christmas. Growing up, of 120 kids in my grade only two were Jewish: me and my best friend. And each year our moms came to school and gave a presentation to our class about Hanukkah. Today, this is a tradition that I’ve continued with my elementary school-aged son. After sharing the Hanukkah story with the class, we pass our dreidels and Hanukkah gelt, teach the kids how to play the dreidel game, let them see/touch different menorahs and then share sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts). It’s fun, educational, and helps my son’s friends better understand how different families celebrate the winter holidays.
Exchanging Gifts
It is tradition to exchange gifts on each night of Hanuukah. And while Hanukah may be the Jewish Festival of Lights, it is also known as the annual tradition of me waiting until the last minute to purchase eight gifts for three kids. As a parent, I struggle with the gift-giving element of the holiday. My children truly want for nothing, and financially we do not have the resources to ply them with eight expensive gifts each. What works well for us is to purchase each child one “big” (relatively speaking) gift and several smaller gifts. For my twins this year this will include a doll from their favorite television show, some costume jewelry, hair accessories and books. To make things easier, I often save a few of their birthday gifts and give them to my twins as Hanukkah presents. This year for their birthday they each received four Barbie dolls. They each opened two and the other two are in the bottom of my closet waiting to be wrapped for Hanukkah.
Contributing Writer: Toby Amir Fox resides in Phoenix, Arizona where she attempts to juggle a husband, three kids, a dog and a full-time job as a fund development officer for a large nonprofit organization without losing her sanity or sense of humor.
