Hanukkah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime โfestival of lights,โ celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. The Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, โkhโ sound, kha-nu-kah, not Ha-new-kah.
It is customary to eat foods fried in oil. The Eastern-European classic is the potatoย latkeย (pancake) garnished with applesauce or sour cream, and the reigning Israeli favorite is the jelly-filledย sufganyaย (doughnut). The tradition is also to give Hanukkahย gelt, gifts of money, to children. Theย cash gifts give the children the opportunity to giveย tzedakahย (charity). This has also spawned the phenomenon of foil-covered โchocolate gelt.โ
On Hanukkah, it is customary to play with a โdreidelโ (a four-sided spinning top bearing the Hebrew letters,ย nun,ย gimmel,ย heiย andย shin, an acronym forย nes gadol hayah sham, โa great miracle happened thereโ). The game is usually played for a pot of coins, nuts, or other stuff, which is won or lost based on which letter the dreidel lands when it is spun.
We wish you a Happy First Day Of Hanukkah!
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