Hanukkah is an eight day holiday starting on the 25th night of the Jewish month of Kislev. Hanukkah (The Hebrew word means 'Dedication') is also known as the Festival of Lights. The holiday goes back almost 2,400 years. Hanukkah celebrates one of the greatest miracles in Jewish history.

The origins of Hanukkah are an event that happened over two thousand years ago. At this time, Judea was ruled by Antiochus, a Syrian king. He attempted to assimilate the Jews into Greek culture, commanding them to worship Greek gods while oppressing Jewish culture and religion. A statue of Antiochus was erected in the Jewish temple and it was ordered that the Jews should bow down before him.

The Ten Commandments forbid Jews to worship statues or idols and so they refused. A small group of Jews called Maccabees (which probably comes from the Hebrew word meaning 'the Hammerer') rebelled, risking their lives to prevent the desecration of their Temple. Although the Maccabees won, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The Jews had to clean and repair the Temple, and when they were finished they rededicated it to God by rekindling the sacred Menorah (a six-stemmed candelabrum) of the temple. Only one small jar of sanctified oil was found, and yet the lamp stayed alight miraculously for eight days.

It is because of this miracle that Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting one candle on the Hanukiah (an eight-stemmed candelabrum) each day. 'Rock of Ages' ('Moaz Tzur' in Hebrew), a hymn of praise to God, is sung after each night's lighting of the candles. The Hanukiah symbolises how God looked after the Jewish people at this difficult time.

Are presents and games associated with Hanukkah?
Like Christmas, Hanukkah is a special time for children. Gifts and Hanukkah money are exchanged. Some families give a small present on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Children and adults play with a spinning top called a dreidel. This cube-shaped dice has a Hebrew letter on each side. To begin the game, each player has 10-20 objects, often raisins or sweets. Each person puts one object in the middle. Then each person takes a turn at spinning the dreidel. The letter that the dreidel shows when it has finished spinning determines whether they win or lose the stake.

What food is eaten during Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is a great time for eating delicious foods. Some dishes have special significance, such as latkes (a kind of potato fritter), pancakes and doughnuts. This is becuase they are fried in oil and so Jewish people remember the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the temple.

Suggested Activities (based on the QCA Schemes of Work)

RE at Key Stages 1 and 2 (Year 1)
Unit 1E: How do Jewish people express their beliefs in practice?
Section 3: How and why is Hanukkah celebrated?
Discuss with students the difference between ordinary holidays and religious festivals. Build up a chart or timeline to show holidays and festivals throughout the year. When do students go on holiday? How do they celebrate well known festivals?

Use a hanukiah to introduce the story of Hanukkah. Tell the story in two halves, asking students to predict the outcome. Explain the difference between a menorah and a hanukiah. Ask students what difference a candle flame makes in a dark room. How do they feel in the dark? In the light? What do they think the burning oil lamp in the temple represents?

Explain that we often celebrate festivals with special food or games. Make links with work in design and technology with children making latkes and eating them together, making and playing with dreidels or making Hanukkah cards or decorations.

Full details of all QCA schemes of work for RE can be found online at:
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/schemes3/subjects/
Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

BBC Religion and Ethics - Judaism
Find out more about how Jews celebrate Hanukkah.

Hanukkah - CBBC Newsround
KS2 students can learn about Hanukkah using this introduction from CBBC Newsround.

BBC News – Happy Hanukkah
Find out more about the Festival of Lights from BBC News.

BBC Gloucestershire– Happy Hanukkah
History of the festival, the significance of menorahs and some recipes for you to try out.

Take the Jewish Quiz
Do you know who founded Judaism and to whom the Ten Commandments were given by God? Test your knowledge in the Jewish Quiz.

Multi Faith Celebrations - BBC Parenting
This handy guide gives tips on preparing yourself for children's curiosity about religions.

Radio 1's One Life Guide to Judaism
History, holiday, festivals and real life interviews about life and faith.

Open-Sez-Me - Hanukkah
A children's version of the Hanukkah story together with instructions for playing with a dreidel and a Hanukkah recipe.

HanuKat
HanuKat offers a playful, interactive way for children, parents, grandparents and friends – both Jewish and non-Jewish - to celebrate Hanukkah and Passover. The site includes stories, recipes and activities.

the RE site
A comprehensive collection of RE news, links and resources for students of all ages. Includes an interactive festivals calendar, links to virtual tours of places of worship and AV/IT resources catalogue.

The Culham Institute
RE curriculum and training resources with a strong emphasis on the use of multimedia and ICT. The site contains a wide range of assemblies for primary and secondary groups focusing on people, festivals and other important themes and days.

the RE directory
A directory of RE contacts, including LEAs, faith communities and suppliers of resources.

SPCK - The Assemblies Website
Constantly updated, this site provides instant-access assemblies for primary and secondary schools on a wide range of secular and religious topics, including festivals of world religions.

The Parrotfish Company
A catalogue of multicultural educational resources and religious artefacts from around the world.

Turning the Pages
The British Library's award-winning online collection of ancient texts. Students can 'turn the pages' of a range of texts from different cultures, including the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Diamond Sutra, Sultan Baybars' Qur'an and the Hebrew Golden Haggadah.

Words Alive! - Special Books
An interactive guide to the six world religions from the British Library with video, images and information. Explore each 'display case' to discover more about each religion.

Britkid
A site about race, racism and life - as seen through the eyes of the Britkids. You can hang out with a Britkid or go into town to learn about religion, food, culture and the triumphs, trials and tribulations of life as a teenager in multicultural Britain.

Portsmouth EMAS
The Portsmouth Ethnic Minority Achievement Service offer a range of excellent multicultural online resources, including religious festival activities, literacy resources and interactive number lines in a wide range of languages.

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.