Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, is the Jewish festival of lights. It lasts eight nights, usually in December, and remembers a Jewish victory more than 2,000 years ago and the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem. Here are 14 facts about Hanukkah.
1Hanukkah means “dedication”.
The Hebrew word refers to the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in about 164 BC.
2It celebrates the Maccabees.
In the 160s BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus IV, a ruler of Greek descent, banned Jewish practices and placed a statue of Zeus in the Temple. A small Jewish army led by the Maccabee family rebelled and recaptured Jerusalem.
3The oil should have lasted one day.
According to the Talmud, the Maccabees found only enough pure oil to light the Temple’s lamp for one day, but it burned for eight. That is why Hanukkah lasts eight nights.
4It begins on the 25th of Kislev.
Hanukkah follows the Hebrew calendar, so its date on the Western calendar changes each year. It usually falls between late November and late December.
5The Hanukkah candlestick has nine branches.
The hanukkiah has eight candles, one for each night, plus a helper candle called the shamash, which is used to light the others. One more candle is lit each night until all eight are burning.
6It is different from the Temple menorah.
The menorah in the ancient Temple had seven branches. Today, the Hanukkah candlestick is often called a menorah too.
7Fried food is part of the celebration.
To remember the miracle of the oil, people eat foods fried in oil, such as potato pancakes called latkes and jam-filled doughnuts called sufganiyot. Millions of doughnuts are eaten in Israel during the festival.
8The dreidel has a hidden message.
The spinning top used in a popular Hanukkah game has four Hebrew letters: nun, gimel, hey and shin. They stand for “a great miracle happened there”. In Israel the last letter is pe, for “a great miracle happened here”.
9Children are given chocolate coins.
Hanukkah gelt, from the Yiddish word for money, was traditionally real coins. Today it is often foil-wrapped chocolate coins, which can be used as stakes in the dreidel game.
10There is no single correct spelling.
Because the name comes from Hebrew, it can be written in English in several ways. Hanukkah and Chanukah are the most common.
11It is not the most important Jewish festival.
Hanukkah is a joyful festival, but religiously it is less important than Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur or Passover. It has become more prominent partly because it falls near Christmas.
12A giant menorah is lit in New York.
One of the world’s largest menorahs, 32 feet (almost 10 metres) tall, is lit each year at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan.
13A menorah is lit in Trafalgar Square.
A large public menorah has been lit in Trafalgar Square in London each Hanukkah for many years, and similar lightings now take place in towns and cities across the UK.
14Harry Truman received a menorah at the White House.
In 1951 the Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion gave President Truman a menorah, and in 1979 Jimmy Carter took part in the first public menorah lighting near the White House.
FAQs about Hanukkah
When is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev and lasts eight nights. On the Western calendar, it usually starts between late November and late December.
Is Hanukkah the Jewish Christmas?
No. The two festivals are unrelated, although they often fall at a similar time of year and both involve lights and gifts.
Sources and further reading
Explore more: facts about Christmas and facts about New Year’s Eve.
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