How much do you know about Hanukkah? Do you know why the menorah has 9 candles? Or why Jewish people eat fried foods like latke? Get ready to learn about Hanukkah’s history and how it became such a widely celebrated holiday. (It wasn’t always as popular as it is today!) These are 25 Facts About Hanukkah You Might Not Know!
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Hanukkah celebrates the military victory of the Maccabees, an army of Jewish rebels, when they took back the Temple from the Syrian-Greeks.
Source: history.com24
The holiday lasts 8 days because when they re-conquered the temple, the Maccabees lit a lamp. They only had oil for one day, but it burned for eight!
Source: history.com23
The Torah doesn't actually mention Hanukkah.
Source: history.com22
Since there isn't any exact way to recreate the Hebrew sounds in English, there are numerous ways of spelling Hanukkah (Hannuka, Chanukah, etc).
Source: huffingtonpost.com21
The Jewish religion puts more emphasis on holidays like Passover and Rosh Hashanah.
Source: huffingtonpost.com20
Jews in the US began to put more emphasis on the holiday in the early 20th century because it occurs around the time that people of other religions, notably Christians, are also celebrating.
Source: history.com19
Today, Jews around the world, even in Israel, have followed suit and thus Hanukkah is much more important than it once was.
Source: history.com18
Traditional Hanukkah food is all fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of the oil.
Source: history.com17
During Hanukkah, kids play with dreidels which are basically small spinning tops.
Source: huffingtonpost.com16
Legend says that since the Jews weren't allowed to read the Torah, they pretended to gamble with the dreidels while studying the text.
Source: huffingtonpost.com15
Modern dreidels have four Hebrew letters written on them - Nun, Gimel, Ha, and Shin. It is said that they stand for "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham," meaning "A great miracle happened there."
Source: huffingtonpost.com14
Some popular foods eaten during Hanukkah include latkes (potato pancakes), kugel (noodle or potato casserole), and gelt (chocolate coins).
Source: history.com13
Since the holiday is based on the Hebrew calendar, there is no set Gregorian day for Hanukkah.
Source: history.com12
In 2013, Hanukkah overlapped with Thanksgiving which led to numerous Thanksgivukkah memes. (The next time this happens will be in 2070.)
Source: history.com11
In the past, many Jews would give money instead of presents. Due to the influence of holidays like Christmas, however, modern Jews tend to prefer gift giving.
Source: history.com10
Children typically receive gelt, or money, in the form of chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.
Source: history.com9
Hanukkah always starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month Kislev.
Source: huffingtonpost.com8
Hanukkah menorahs are nine-branched candelabrums lit during the eight day period of the holiday.
Source: history.com7
The ninth branch is called a shamash and is used to light the other branches.
Source: history.com6
Every day of Hanukkah an extra candle is lit, as well as all the candles that were lit on the previous days. To celebrate the whole eight days, you'll need 44 candles!
Source: huffingtonpost.com5
Besides different colors, there are also different scents available for menorah candles!
Source: history.com4
Music isn't a significant part of Hanukkah (compared to Christmas), and songs like "I Have a Little Dreidel" are mainly for kids.
Source: history.com3
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter lit the first National Menorah in the White House lawn.
Source: history.com2
In 1996, the US Post Office issued a 32 cent Hanukkah stamp as a joint issue with Israel.
Source: history.com1
As compared to other Jewish holidays, Hanukkah has almost no restriction on work other than for a few minutes after lighting the candles.
Source: huffingtonpost.comLists Going Viral Right Now
Featured Image: shutterstock, 25. wikimedia commons (public domain), 24-22. pixabay (public domain), 21. Eczebulun, Passover-usa, CC BY-SA 3.0, 20-16. pixabay (public domain), 15. Adiel lo, Colorful dreidels2, CC BY-SA 3.0, 14-13. pixabay (public domain), 12. www.someecards.com, 11. pixabay (public domain), 10. liz west, Chanukah gelt, CC BY 2.0, 9. pixabay (public domain), 8. Yoav Nachtailer, Exhibit in heichal shlomo – Hanukkah Menorah4, CC BY-SA 3.0, 7-4. wikimedia commons (public domain), 3. AgnosticPreachersKid, White House DC, CC BY-SA 3.0, 2-1. pixabay (public domain)
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