Surely if there's a word with the most accepted alternate spellings and mis-spellings, it must be Hanukkah. Or perhaps it's Chanuka. Or maybe even Hannaka, Channukah, Hannakah. Whatever you call it, it's a delightfully fun holiday to celebrate with children. In Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song, he said that "Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights." While the lyrics to most of his songs aren't generally considered suitable for children, there is a list of well-known Jewish people in the song, that kids have probably heard of. There are other ways to learn about Hanukkah, though. Try these activities and games for learning about Hanukkah.
What is Hanukkah?
Another name for Hanukkah is the "Festival of Lights." During winter's darkest time of the year, most cultures and faiths have a holiday that focuses on "bringing light." In fact, some scholars speculate that the Christian"'son" was actually "The sun." However, even Christmas traditions involve candles and, in more modern times, lighting up the house and the tree.
In Hanukkah lore, the Jews were rebuilding their temple after it was destroyed by pagan soldiers, and had enough oil for one day. The oil lasted for eight days, though, either by miracle or conservation and to commemorate the event, Jews light 8 candles on a menorah, one each night in a row. On the first night, one candle is lit and on the second night, two candles are lit, so that on the final night, the entire menorah is lit up.
Hanukkah Menorahs for Children
Kids in Jewish homes have their own menorahs, and are allowed to light them themselves. Lighting candles isn't something many kids are allowed to do often, so the sense of responsibility and trust that comes from handling fire in the homes makes for special times. For educational purposes, have kids calculate how many candles are needed for everyone in the home to light the menorah each night. Don't forget the Shamash candle. It's the one that sits in the center of the menorah and is used to light all the others. You can find printable kids menorah pictures to color. A menorah is lit at sunset, and the family must stay together until it burns out. Many families sing Jewish songs or prayers while they burn.
Kids Activities and Games for Hanukkah, The Dreidel
A Hanukkah dreidel (dray dul) looks like a spinning top, only it's square. Each of the 4 sides has a different Hebrew symbol that, together, says “A great miracle happened here.” To play dreidel, children spin the dreidel and when it falls, the symbol that shows on top determines how many coins (or candies) they get to keep and how many go into the pot.
Kids Activities for Hanukkah, Hide The Matzoh
In some Jewish homes, a piece of Matzoh bread (similar to a cracker) is wrapped in a napkin and hidden in the house. The child who finds it first is the winner, and when it is found, the children are all gifted with “gelt,” chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil. Gelt is the Yiddish word for money.
Hanukkah Foods
Since the holiday honors the miracle of the oil, Hanukkah features fried foods, like Sufganiyot, a Jewish jelly donut and Potato Latkes, which are sometimes made like potato-flour pancakes and sometimes like hashbrowns.
Celebrating Hanukkah with children is a great way to teach about the Jewish traditions. Eight nights of gifts is exclusively a North American practice, and not at all a necessary part of observing the holiday. Children love the fried foods, the Dreidel game and eating gelt. Another winter holiday of lights is Kwanzaa. Learning about the different December holidays is one way to teach tolerance and to help kids understand other cultures.
