A misconception of most is that Hanukkah is the most important holiday, which is false. It is given popularity because it usually falls about the same time as Christmas, but it was actually a minor holiday until the 1800s when people adopted gift giving.
The story behind Hanukkah is that during ancient times, the early Jews didn’t have enough oil to burn for eight days to purify their temple. However, the oil miraculously lasted eight days anyways, and thus the holiday Hanukkah was born.
Gelt, which are chocolate coins, also play a big role in Hanukkah. Gelt is the Yiddish word for “money,” and since Hanukkah is linked to the Hebrew word for education, money was often given to the local Jewish teacher as a sign of appreciation. Eventually an American chocolate maker invented the chocolate gelt as a more appropriate gift for small children. Today, candy gelt is also often used as money in the game Dreidel, which is a game in which you bet which Hebrew letter will land on a four sided top.
During Hanukkah, many typical Jewish foods are fried, to symbolize the oil. These include “latkes,” which are pan fried potato pancakes, served usually with applesauce and Sufganiyot, which are fried jelly filled doughnuts.
This year Hanukkah begins on the evening of Dec. 1 and ends on the night of Dec. 9.
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