By Aziza Moyer, Reporter & Designer
It’s time for the holidays! Christmas cookies, trees, ornaments, and maybe a few menorahs and dreidels. But do the non-Jewish students in the hallways of the school really know anything about Hanukkah or how it is commemorated?
“So I know about the menorah and the eight days that are celebrated — and don’t you get presents on each of those eight days? — though I don’t know why you light candles,” said sophomore Calvin McMillan. “All I know is that you do.”
Hanukkah is indeed an eight-day Jewish holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights. The holiday is based upon the Jewish reclaiming of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem more than two thousand years ago.
According to the Jewish faith, when the Temple’s menorah (a seven-branched candelabrum) was lit, it miraculously burned for eight days. Centuries later, quite a few students in the high school still celebrate Hanukkah.
Sophomore Emily Levin is one of them.
“The way we celebrate Hanukkah is based on tradition,” said Levin. “The menorah is used to represent the eight nights of light that lasted in the temple, even though the oil was only supposed to supply light for one night.
“We open presents because we get jealous of other kids getting Christmas gifts,” Levin said, somewhat humorously. “We also play dreidel and eat latkes as a way of celebrating the holiday, and we go to parties to spend time and have fun with our family and friends.”
Traditional celebration involves lighting one more candle on the menorah each night, often while saying a prayer. It is common to cook classic Hanukkah foods such as latkes (potato pancakes), noodle kugel (baked pudding or casserole), sufganiyot (jelly donuts), and challah (braided egg bread).
“We light candles every night and spend time with friends and family at a party or gathering,” said freshman Shira Stahl.
Many people also play a game called dreidel, in which you spin a four-sided toy top. Depending on which side you land on, you may win or lose something, often coins or gelt (chocolate coins).
“I think one misconception people have about Hanukkah is that they believe it is a major holiday of Judaism,” said Levin. “But really, it is a very minor holiday that has been blown up because it falls so close to Christmas.”
This is true, as Hanukkah is, in fact, not as important in the Jewish tradition as many other holidays, including Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).