Hanukkah Symbols and Their Meanings

There are many important symbols at the time of Hanukkah. The menorah is the most obvious of all Hanukkah symbols. As the Hanukkah story goes, during the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem, the people were able to celebrate for eight nights although the oil that they had should only have been enough to provide light for one night. Since the oil was able to last for so long, this is considered the Hanukkah miracle. The menorah symbolizes this miracle. During the celebration, one additional candle is lit each of the eight nights until all eight are lit on the final night of Hanukkah. You may have realized that there is normally 1 additional candle on the menorah either above or below all of the other candles. This is called the shamash. This additional candle is used to light the other candles.

The dreidel is another common symbol of Hanukkah. The symbols on the dreidel are the acronym for the words a great miracle happened here. This is of course referring to the great miracle of the lights lasting for so many days. The dreidel is often a game that is played by a family after the candles are lit on the menorah. In the game each player starts out with their own amount of coins, nuts, and fruit. There is also a bowl that is placed in the middle of the players. Each symbol on the dreidle is given an action to either take something from the pot, take all the items from the pot, to put into the pot, or do nothing. As each player spins the dreidle they do one of the above four things until one of the players wins everything.

Gelt refers to coins. Coins are often given as gifts in enjoyment of the holiday season. Companies that make chocolate came of with the great idea of making chocolate coins that are wrapped in shiny silver or gold foil. This chocolate gelt is often what is used by children when the are playing dreidle.

There are also some special foods that are specifically symbolic at Hanukkah. Latkes, or potato pancakes and fruit filled doughnuts are foods that are often eaten during Hanukkah celebrations. These items are especially associated with Hanukkah because of the fact they are fried in oil and remind us of the miracle of the small flask of oil that managed to burn for eight nights.