A question that I’m frequently asked around the holidays is, “So do you really get presents for eight nights?” Many people who are unfamiliar with Hanukkah only associate the holiday with the gifts aspect. Yet, there is so much more to Hanukkah. The reason that Jews from all over the world celebrate this holiday every year is because of the miracles that happened about 2000 years ago.

During that time period, Israel was under the Syrian-Greek empire which was ruled by the Syrians. There was an evil king named Antiochus who hated Jewish people. Jews only worshipped God, and Antiochus despised that. He wanted them to worship his idols like the rest of the Greeks and Syrians.

Antiochus took away all their rights to practice Judaism. The Jews decided to fight back under a new leader named Judah Maccabee. Their army was small compared to the king’s, yet they managed to claim victory despite the odds. This is one of the miracles of Hanukkah that Jews still celebrate to this day.

The King and his army destroyed the Jews’ Temple, so they worked hard to restore it. The word Hanukkah itself means “dedication”, which essentially represents the Jews’ dedication of the Temple.

Another miracle of Hanukkah deals with the oil. At the time, oil was needed to light the menorah which stays lit in the Temple for eight days. There was only a little bit of oil that was left after the destruction, yet they used what little supply they had to light the menorah. The Jews believed that there was only enough oil to burn for one day, but remarkably it lasted eight days and nights.

Today, most Jewish families light the menorah every night of Hanukkah to celebrate. Each night you add another candle and light one for whatever night of Hanukkah it is. Also, gelt and latkes are eaten during this holiday. Gelt are little chocolate coins, and latkes are potato pancakes. Typically, Jews eat brisket, latkes, and doughnuts, or anything made with oil, for a traditional Hanukkah dinner.

Another Hanukkah tradition is playing the dreidel game. A dreidel is a little top that you spin. It has four sides, and on each side is a different Hebrew letter. When you play the game you also play with gelt, which acts as the money in the pot. You spin the dreidel and each letter means something different. One letter (gimel) means you take all the gelt, another (hey) means you take half of it, while another (shin) means you must put all of your gelt into to the pot. The other letter (nun) means nothing happens and the game continues.

Many families do give presents to their kids each night of Hanukkah. When I was younger, I received at least five presents a night, but now that I am older I don’t get nearly as many gifts.

Clearly, Hanukkah is celebrated to remember the miracles that happened a long time ago, and is not just a holiday where we get presents for 8 days.