The Eight Nights of Hanukkah

Last night was the last night of Hanukkah. It was a lot of fun celebrating this Holiday this year. The kids really enjoyed getting SO MANY presents and it was great learning about the meaning behind all of the traditional Hanukkah symbols. Last night I made Latkes to have with dinner.(Grammy even said they tasted just like the one's her Grammy used to make.) The reason for making Latkes during Hanukkah is that the oil used to fry them is to remind us of the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.


Earlier in the week the kids had fun searching for and the EATING Gelt (Chocolate Coins). We learned that when the Maccabees defeated Antiochus, they threw away the coins with his picture on them. They made new coins with Judah Maccabee's picture. The tradition of giving Hanukkah gelt became part of the holiday. At first money was given as a gift only to teachers. Later, children received gelt for Hanukkah.

Playing the dreidel game was lots of fun too. We learned that each side of the dreidel has a Hebrew letter on it which stand for "A Great Miracle Happened There. The letters also stand for the Yiddish words that explain how to play the game.

It was a lot of fun to celebrate Hanukkah this year. I'm really glad that Katie & Alex got to learn about their Grammy's traditions.