Hanukkah is a worldwide Jewish holiday that brings friends and family together. The holiday spans eight days and aside from the religious significance it is also a lot of fun. Here are five fun facts you may not have known about Hanukkah.
1. The first Hanukkah was started by Judah the Maccabee after he liberated Jerusalem from Syria, who had defiled the temple with pagan idols and demanded everyone abandon their Jewish faith.
2. During Hanukkah, Jews eat foods fried in oil to commemorate how one night’s worth of oil lasted for eight nights during the rededication of the temple by Judah and his followers. Using only one day’s worth of oil instead of enough for eight days is a historical event that gets a lot of discussion in the Jewish faith.
3. The word “Hanukkah” can be translated as “dedication” or “consecration” in the Hebrew language. It refers to the rededication of the Second temple by the Jews in the second century B.C.E., after Syria’s Hellenistic Greeks defiled it with the worship of Greek gods.
4. The Oxford English Dictionary provides over twenty different spelling options for the word Hanukkah. The spelling used in this article is the most common spelling based on data attained from Google. Which spelling do you prefer?
5. Israeli’s consume 17.5 million sufganiyot (oily jelly donuts) during Hanukkah each year, as it is a traditional holiday dessert.
Bonus Fact: Kosher gift baskets make for a fast, convenient, and impressive Hanukkah gift. If you need a Hanukkah gift for a family member or loved one for the holiday head on over to our Hanukkah Gift Basket section. We have high-quality kosher gift baskets with exquisite kosher treats available for every taste and budget. View our Hanukkah Gift Baskets.
