When is Hanukkah?
How to celebrate Hanukkah
With all those candles, it’s no wonder that Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights. The menorahs used by Jewish families to celebrate Hanukkah have eight branches for candles (plus a tall one that serves as the shamash, or servant candle). This special menorah is technically called a hanukkiah, as it’s used specifically for the holiday.
Hanukkah is a family holiday, celebrated in the home. On the first night at sundown, the family re-enacts the lighting at the Temple by saying a prayer as they ignite the shamash, which is then used to light the first candle on the menorah. The following night, they light two candles, then three, and so on until the eighth night when all the candles are lit.
The candle lighting may be followed with opening gifts, playing the dreidel game, and reading stories explaining the Hanukkah story to the kids. And of course, there are traditional foods to enjoy. To remember the miracle of the oil, Jewish families serve fried foods, like latkes (potato pancakes) or sufganiyot (doughnuts) with the Hanukkah meal.
Now that her 18-month old son is no longer a baby, Sacramento mom Carly Starr is introducing him to the holiday.
“I am teaching my son how to play dreidel, and we are making an activity around ‘counting’ the number of candles on a menorah. We have a bunch of Hanukkah books which are also being read frequently,” she told Mom.com.
Rabbi Jill Zimmerman told Mom.com that the story of Hanukkah is especially relevant this year.
“As antisemitism sweeps across our nation in unprecedented ways, celebrating Hanukkah has a new dimension for today’s Jews,” she said. ““In years past, it has been a custom to place our menorahs in our windows, facing outward, to share the joy of increasing light. Today, however, this practice becomes an act of bravery.”
“This year, many of us will light our menorahs and let them shine into the street from our homes as an act of both pride and defiance. It’s shocking that in 2022 in the US, where so many of us have felt safe, that displaying our menorahs in our windows could possibly elicit more hate. I hope it does not,” Rabbi Zimmerman said.
Carly told Mom.com she is feeling this, too. “This year, I did buy a cheap LED menorah to put in the window as soon as I put holiday lights on my house. I did this specifically to show Jewish presence in my neighborhood,” she said. “While I know there are more Jews in my neighborhood compared to other places, it was still important for me to take that extra step this year.”
