Among this incoming holiday season there are many different religious holidays that people celebrate and one of them is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is sometimes spelled Chanukah and is additionally known as The Festival of Lights. The history of Hanukkah began in Israel where the Jewish people were forced to worship in one temple if they didn’t convert to Greek mythological beliefs. Hanukkah is the celebration of Jonah Maccabee pushing out the Syrians from Israel who were trying to push out Judaism. When Jonah pushed the Syrians out, they lit the temple’s Menorah, and that’s why the Menorah is lit today. During the war between the Jews and the Syrians, the temple was destroyed except for one wall, The Western Wall (or Wailing Wall in Israel today). Only enough oil was left to keep the Menorah lit for one day, but a miracle occurred and that oil lasted 8 days, which was long enough for the Jews to find more oil to use.

“To celebrate Hanukkah nowadays, people play the dreidel game, a game with chocolate coins and a 4 sided top, and we light the Menorah and say a prayer every night,” said sophomore Dylan Jeffreys. “When we light the Menorah, we use the Shamesh candle to light the others.”

A Shamesh candle is the “attendant” candle that is used to light  the other lights. It sits a bit higher or lower than the other candles, on the ninth branch of the Menorah.

“The first night we light the Shamesh and first nights candle; so it’s a total of 2 candles, and we let them burn all the way down.  Next night, Shamesh and 2 more candles. Me and my little sister, Hannah, like to take turns lighting the candles each night,” said Jeffreys.

On the third night of Hanukkah three candles are lit, and on the fourth, four, and so on. This continues for eight nights.

“To go along with the oil, we make a food called latkes which are essentially potato pancakes. They’re kind of like hash browns made into a pancake shape and fried. They are very good with applesauce and sour cream!” said Jeffreys.

Like all holidays, Hanukkah brings together the family for fun activities and creates memories to have for years to come.

“There is a song to go with the dreidel game, and kids sing it while they play. As for Hanukkah music like Christmas music, there aren’t many songs. There are no “Hanukkah Carols”, if you will,” said Jeffreys.

Despite the lack of an abundance of holiday music, the enjoyment of the holiday is not diminished.

“Another great part of Hanukkah is the gifts! One present per night for 8 nights is pretty darn cool,” said Jeffreys.

The Hanukkah celebration of 2014 begins on the evening of December 16 and ends on the evening of December 24. Have a happy celebration!