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Hanukkah: Children
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Traditionally, Hanukkah was one of the only times that rabbis permitted games of chance. Children sometimes play games with a spinning top called a dreidel during the eight days of the festival. Before play, each player puts a certain number of coins, candies, or another object into a “pot.” One player then spins the dreidel. Each of the four sides of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the side that lands up when the dreidel stops spinning indicates which part of the pot the player will receive. The Hebrew letter nun indicates “nothing”; the letter gimel, “all”; hei, “half”; and shin, “put in” or “match the pot.” Over time, these letters came to stand for the Hebrew phrase Nes gadol haya sham (“A great miracle happened there”). Children ... play by guessing which letter will appear when the dreidel stops, with the winner claiming the pot.
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For children age 7-9, The Story of Hanukkah, written by Amy Ehrlich with paintings by Ori Sherman (Dial, 1989), is a good choice. The text is direct and poetic; the paintings are sumptuous, conveying powerful emotions.
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Other Hanukkah traditions include singing, the exchange of gifts and the spinning of the dreidel. Dreidels commonly bear a Hebrew letter on each side, the first letters of a phrase meaning, "a great miracle happened there." Children typically use chocolate gelt (coins) to make a bet on the outcome of each spin of the dreidel.
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In North America especially, Hanukkah gained increased importance with many Jewish families in the latter half of the twentieth century, including large numbers of secular Jews, who wanted a Jewish alternative to the Christmas celebrations that often overlap with Hanukkah. Though it was traditional to give "gelt" or money coins to children during Hanukkah, in many families this has changed into gifts in order to prevent Jewish children from feeling left out of the Christmas gift giving.
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Latkes are potato pancakes served at Hanukkah. Lemony Snicket is an alleged children's author. For the first time in literary history, these two elements are combined in one book. The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story is hardcover with colorful illustrations, and is well-suited for giving, receiving, or clutching selfishly in trembling hands.
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A newer tradition in the United States is the baking of butter cookies or pretzels in the shape of Hanukkah symbols while relating the stories. Children delight in helping and learn as they create, too.
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