What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of lights. Hanukkah is an eight day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar. In South Africa it starts on the 21st until the 29th of December.
Hanukkah marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the Talmud, there was only enough sacred olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Amazingly, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.
The most important Hanukkah ceremony is the candle lighting. Jews light candles in a special candleholder called a "menorah" or a "hanukkiah". Each night, one more candle is added. The middle candle, called the "shamash", is used to light each of the other candles and it is lit every night. Thus, on the first night of Hanukkah, two candles are lit (the shamash and the candle for the first night) and on the last night, there are nine lit candles.
Hanukkah is celebrated by a variety of rituals that are performed everyday throughout the 8-day holiday. Some are family-based and others are communal. There are special additions to the daily prayer service, and a section is added to the blessing after meals. People go to work as usual, but may leave early in order to be home to kindle the lights at nightfall. Many families exchange gifts each night, and fried foods are eaten.
Another tradition is to play the "dreidel" game. A dreidel (or "sivivon") is a four-sided top. On each side is a different Hebrew letter (meaning a great miracle happened here or there). The dreidel is used for a gambling game in which each letter represents a different amount of money.
The SmartCape team wishes our Jewish users a Happy Hannukah!
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