What makes hanukkah unique

The most common version is Hanukkah, but all of the spellings are actually accurate. Because there is no correct way to directly translate the Hebrew sounds to English, it could be spelled a variety of different ways, each equally correct. The Greek-Syrians had outlawed Jewish studies, so the Jews spun dreidels to pretend they were merely playing games while they engaged with their scripture.

To celebrate the miracle of the oil lasting eight days, many of the holiday's festive foods are prepared in oil, particularly: the family favorite sufganiyot or jelly donuts.

Jews follow a tradition of incentivizing their children to learn Torah on this holiday by gifting them gelt, or golden-wrapped chocolates that resemble coins. Gelt can also be won in a game of Dreidel! The Scene.

Type keyword s to search. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. The word Hanukkah means "dedication. In , on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.

Memorial Day will occur on Monday, May Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. History of Hanukkah. Recommended for you. Ask a Rabbi: Hanukkah. Hanukkah World Records. Judith: Hanukkah Heroine. Hanukkah World Records EEver since the days of the Maccabees, Jews around the globe have been attempting incredible feats in honor of Hanukkah.

Easter Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Veterans Day Veterans Day is a U. Memorial Day Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.

See More. At Hanukkah, kids play with dreidels, which are small spinning tops. The four letters are said to stand for the Hebrew phrase " Nes Gadol Hayah Sham "—meaning "A great miracle happened there"—which refers to the miraculous, long-lasting oil. While it always starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev, that date can correspond to anywhere from late November to late December.

This year, Hanukkah is fairly late, beginning on the evening of December 22 and going to December In , Hanukkah overlapped with Thanksgiving, giving rise to countless Thanksgivukkah memes and jokes about cranberry-filled sufganiyot and sweet potato latkes. Traditionally, Jews celebrated Hanukkah by giving their kids and relatives gelt money rather than wrapped gifts. But because holiday gift-giving plays a big role for both Christians and secular people, many Jews now give and receive Hanukkah presents instead of money.

To acknowledge tradition, though, most Jews give children gelt in the form of chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil. Hanukkah menorahs—which some Jews prefer to call a chanukiah , to differentiate it from the true menorah at the Temple—have nine branches, eight for each night plus a helper candle called a shamash that lights the others. Jews light the candles in the menorah from left to right, lighting a new candle, candles for the previous days, and the helper candle each night.