Chanukah, which always falls on the twenty-fifth of Kislev according to the Jewish Calendar, is usually held during the month of December. The Hebrew meaning of Chanukah is Dedication and Shamash is Servant.
Chanukah is a eight-day holiday which celebrates the Jewish people defeating the Syrian-Greek armies and reclaiming the Temple in Jerusalem. After cleaning the Temple which was overgrown with vines and weeds, they finished their work on the twenty-fifth of Kislev. As they gathered to light the menorah, however, they could only find one small jar of pure olive oil which would last only one day. To their surprise, however, the oil burned and burned for eight days and nights until they could produce more oil. Thus, the eight-day long Chanukah holiday.
One of the most popular Chanukah pastimes in playing the Dreidel game. It is a form of an old German gambling game, and its name derives from the German word for ‘top’. The stakes are decidedly low-key during Chanukah, however, with players betting their fortune in chocolates (pelts), pennies or nuts. The top has four sides, each marked with a Hebrew letter: Nun, Shin, Gimel, Hay. the letters also stand for the words Nes Gadol Haya Sham or A Great Miracle Happened There! (or here).
When you spin and land on these letters:
Nun – you don’t get anything at all
Shin – you must put an item in the pot
Gimel – you’re a winner, take the whole pot!
Hay – scoop up half of the items
