Christmas is the holiday of holidays. It has a whole event 25 days before the holiday even happens. If you look on your calendars, I guarantee that there is a little bar that says "Christmas Eve" the day before Christmas, "Christmas Day" the day of Christmas, and "The Day After Christmas" the day after Christmas. To be clear, I'm not complaining about the amount of publicity, because it is a very big deal and a whole season is surrounded by it. I just need to make sure Hanukkah gets some love too. Here are some facts about Hanukkah that you just might not know.
1. There is no perfect translation from Hebrew to English for Hanukkah.
This is why you often see "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah" and both are widely accepted. My suggestion when it comes to spelling this holiday is to pick one of these and stick with it forever.
2. Presents are only given for Hanukkah because the Jewish Community has adapted to it since presents are given for Christmas.
What?! Surprise, surprise. From immigrating to America, Jews adapted to the culture here and decided that since presents are given for Christmas, why not Hanukkah? And thus, Hanukkah Harry (Judaism's "Santa," which was also made up recently) was born.
3. Speaking of presents, there is no such thing as a Hanukkah Bush.
But where do Jews put the presents? Great question! Presents are put by a fireplace, on a table, under a table, around a table, by a couch, or maybe outside in the snow (kidding). It really doesn't matter where the presents are put.
4. Speaking of presents again, majority of Jewish families do not give presents for all eight nights.
C'mon now, let's be realistic. What parents in their right mind would spoil their kids so much that they'd buy them eight great presents for eight different nights? I for sure will not.
5. The story behind Hanukkah is actually pretty cool.
Do you believe in miracles? Well, Hanukkah is all about a miracle. You see, the Jews were in the middle of a small war for their right to practice Judaism. They went back to the temple after they had won the war and they lit a menorah. There was supposed to be enough oil for only one day, but a miracle happened and the oil lasted eight whole days and nights. This is why the Hanukiah, or better known as a Menorah, is lit for eight days/nights, adding another candle each night.
6. Hanukkah isn't considered the biggest Jewish holiday.
Passover, where Jews aren't allowed to or aren't supposed to eat bread, is the biggest Jewish holiday. Hanukkah just gets hyped up because it is around the same time as Christmas. It is still important, though!
7. But why does Hanukkah switch days almost every year? I'm glad you asked!
Hanukkah is on the Jewish calendar, which doesn't perfectly match up with the Gregorian calendar (the one we are all used to) because the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle. So, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev which can also fall anywhere from November 28 to December 26.
8. Hanukkah has this really good traditional food too.
Do you like potatoes? Do you like pancakes? Do you think you'd like a potato pancake? If you said yes to the above questions, then you would love potato latkes. They are little potato pancakes and are delicious. Different families have different ways of eating them. My personal favorite is just sprinkling sugar on top of them. Some other classics are ketchup and applesauce. Do you like donuts? How about Jelly? Do you like jelly-filled donuts? Then here is another great Hanukkah food for you. It's called Sufganiyot. It's basically a jelly-filled donut and is also delicious.
