Eight Naughty Nights

As Adam Sandler says in “The Chanukah Song”, there’s a large amount of Christmas songs and a lack of Hanukkah songs. You may not know much about Hanukkah, but there’s more to it than the dreidel song and wearing a yamaka. There’s lots of tasty and unhealthy food (hence the “naughty” nights), songs, games, and other traditions to learn. We hope that this article will give you a taste of the holiday and some Jewish culture so when you hear Sandler wail about “eight crazy nights,” you’ll know what he means.

Hanukkah is the festival of lights. It is also spelled Chanukah spelled differently because it's a phonetic translation from the Hebrew word חנוכה. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the most important holiday in Judaism, which explains the lack of Hanukkah songs (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most important holidays and are called the “High Holidays”). It is celebrated in Israel as a festival more than a long day of prayer, such as the holidays Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. A quick recap of the religious story is that the Maccabees (a small Jewish group in the second century BC) were moments from attack from the Syrians, a much larger army. The Maccabees were not intimidated by the opposing army’s size, and they miraculously won the battle. They traveled to a temple to escape the brutal winter and rest. They only had enough oil to light candles for one night, which was a major problem because it was a long time before Thomas Edison would invent the lightbulb. To the Maccabees’ relief, a miracle occurred: the candle remained lit for not only one night, but eight nights. This was a miracle.

All Jewish holidays begin at sundown the day before the holiday date. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight nights in the late fall or early winter. The exact dates change each ​

​year because the holiday is based on the Hebrew calendar. A menorah is used to represent each night of Hanukkah. There are nine candles: eight for the eight nights of the holiday and the ninth candle is the shemesh (“helper candle”) which is used to light the other candles. The number of candles lit represents which night of Hanukkah it is. It is true that Jewish children​

​ receive gifts each night of Hanukkah, which spreads out the holiday and increases the fun and anticipation of presents. A prayer is said each night to for the lights of Hanukkah.

The staple foods during Hanukkah (and other Jewish holidays) are potato latkes, challah bread, brisket, sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), matzo ball soup, and gelt. As you can tell, Jewish food typically contains a lot of oil so you may want to organize a family workout session after each Hanukkah meal. The oil represents the oil that miraculously lasted for eight nights for the Maccabees. Jewish families often join the first night of Hanukkah to feast and celebrate the festival of lights together. Latkes are basically fried potatoes (similar to potato pancakes) and they are usually eaten with applesauce. Challah bread is a gift from heaven. It is thick white bread with a honey flavor, and the dough is kneaded into a braided fashion to give it a beautiful and unique appearance. Some more traditional Hanukkah foods include brisket and matzo ball soup. Most families have a recipe for making brisket that has been passed down for generations. It is a thick cut of meat that is roasted for hours and served with baked carrots and potatoes and is a staple of most

Jewish celebrations. And of course, matzo ball soup is famous everywhere for its salty flavor and delicious ball of “bread” that sits in the middle. Sufganiyot are jelly doughnuts

that sometimes have a small topping of chocolate. Gelt are chocolate coins with gold foil that are used in the dreidel game, which is explained later. Overall, Hanukkah is a good eight days that will have your tastebuds cheering and your doctor scolding.

Jews suffer from a lack of Hanukkah music, but there are a few songs that do the trick. Adam Sandler’s iconic SNL skit (the link is included at the bottom of this article under “Helpful Links”) of the song “takes the cake by describing the holiday and all the famous people who celebrate it. To top it off, the song has three parts. Another song that has gone more under the radar is, “Happy Hanukkah” by 2 Live Jews. The commentary in the start is priceless and the lyrics throughout are extremely relatable to Jews everywhere. One cannot forget the quinntessential dreidel song, of course. My favorite version is, “I Have A Little Dreidel” by the Barenaked Ladies. “How Do You Spell Channukkahh?” by The LeeVees is a hilarious song that sums up the frustration with Hanukkah's multiple spellings. Some other songs to finish off your playlist are, “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah (Glee Cast Version)” by Glee Cast, “Can I Interest you in Hannuakah?” by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, “Chanukah in West Virginia” by Scott Simons, and “Chanukah (Shake It Off)” by Six13. If you discover any more songs or decide to create a new one, please share. Music lovers throughout the Jewish community will appreciate you.

One tradition that is a timeless classic for Jews and their taste buds is the dreidel game. All one needs is a Dreidel, a bowl (called the “pot”), a smooth surface (preferably a table or floor) and some gelt (chocolate coins). If you don’t have gelt, don’t sweat it: any pile of small candy or treat will suffice. The players take turns spinning the dreidel to see how much gelt they win or lose. Each side of the dreidel means a different outcome. The goal of the game is to win all of the gelt. Once one person wins it all, the game is over. Children usually eat the gelt at the end, bit if you had a rough day feel free to eat out your rage. Gimel (pronounced “gantz” in Hebrew; it means “everything”) means that the player wins all of the gelt in the pot. Hey (pronounced “halb” in Hebrew; it means “half”) means that the player wins half of the gelt in the pot. Shin (pronounced “shtel” in Hebrew; it means “put in”) means that the player must put one of his or her game piece in the pot. Nun (pronounced “nisht” in Hebrew; it means “nothing”) means that the player must put one of his or her game piece in the pot. A link with more thorough descriptions is included at the end of this article under the “Helpful Articles” section.

Hanukkah is a time for family, friends, junk food, and gift-giving— what’s not to like? But on a serious note, it’s also a time to recognize and celebrate the courage and resilience of the Jewish people. We have been through hell and back in our over 3,500 year history, and that treacherous road continues today. I hope you enjoyed this article and are able to share your knowledge with friends and family, as well as celebrate some of the traditions. Below are some links if you would like to learn more about Hanukkah and Jewish culture.

Please contact us if you have any feedback (questions, comments, or suggestions on new traditions or ways to modify old ones). We write for our viewers, and we want to get your opinions! Hanukkah Sameach!

Helpful Links:

https://toriavey.com/hanukkah-the-festival-of-lights/ Link to more information on Hanukah, or the Festival of Lights

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/ Link to more information on Judaism

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/adam-sandler-sings-the-hanukkah-song/3634772?snl=1 Link to the SNL Adam Sandler Hanukkah Song Skit

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/how-to-play-dreidel/ Link to Dreidel game instructions

Citations:

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/adamsandler/thechanukahsong.html

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/adam-sandler-sings-the-hanukkah-song/3634772?snl=1

https://toriavey.com/hanukkah-the-festival-of-lights/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/

https://www.nbc.com/sites/nbcunbc/files/files/images/2017/12/12/171212_3634772_Adam_Sandler_Sings_The_Hanukkah_Song.jpg

https://media.thetab.com/blogs.dir/113/files/2015/12/unnamed-3.jpg

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2002/11/dreidel-sides-letters--e1449268869620.jpg

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/top10_hanukkah/dreidel.jpg

http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2016/12/R2-20161202-challah-bread-vicky-wasik-52.jpg

https://toriavey.com/images/2010/12/Classic-Latkes-Applesauce-2.jpg

https://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.632472.1418865610!/image/1281297.jpg

https://prods3.imgix.net/images/articles/2016_06/Feature-Brisket-Big-Dish-Photo-Devon-Knight.jpg

https://www.saveur.com/sites/saveur.com/files/styles/1000_1x_/public/import/2010/images/2010-03/634-passover_matzo_ball_soup_400.jpg?itok=StcOSoal

https://cdn.jewishboston.com/uploads/2016/11/iStock-622894144-729x486.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/71/d9/c571d9bfab3d152c8721ed606997e3cc.jpg

https://cdn.jewishboston.com/uploads/2017/10/Jewish-Holidays-Hanukkah-501194828_3008x2000-729x486.jpeg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c5/71/d9/c571d9bfab3d152c8721ed606997e3cc.jpg