Greetings to all those celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights.
At sunset yesterday evening Hanukkah began here. Hanukkah or Chanukah is also known as the the Festival of Lights. It is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days.
Here is some information about Hanukkah:
Every year between the end of November and the end of December, Jewish people around the world celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, but the starting date on the western calendar varies from year to year. The holiday celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel.
Each night during Hanukkah a candle is lit in a special candelabra called a Menorah. The center candle, called the Shamash, is always the first candle placed in the Menorah and the first candle to be lit each night. The remaining candles are placed and lit in a specific order depending on the night of the celebration.
The dreidel is one of the best known symbols of Hanukkah. A four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side, the dreidel is used to play a fun Hanukkah game of chance.
The letters on the dreidel, Nun, Gimmel, Hey and Shin, stand for the Nes Gadol Haya Sham, which means A Great Miracle Happened There.
The dreidel is used to play a fun Hanukkah game of chance
To play the game of dreidel, two to four players each get a handful of pennies or chocolate money. The remainder of the pot is left in the middle. The youngest players spins the dreidel and depending on what letter the top lands on, they do the following:
NUN - Lose his turn, the top passes to the next player.
GIMEL – Win all the pot.
HEY – Win half the pot
SHIN (or PEH) – Lose all of his coins
The dreidel continues to be passed around the circle until one player has won everyone’s coins. The word dreidel comes from a Yiddish word meaning to turn.
According to some historians, Jews first played with a spinning top during the rule of the Greek King Antiochus’. In Judea, Antiochus had outlawed Jewish worship, so the Jews would use a game with the spinning top as a ruse to conceal that they were secretly studying Torah.
Have a very Happy Hanukkah
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Celebrate Hanukkah, the winter season or use when you need a blue themed kit! Use the Blue Ice Polka Dot Scrap Kit to remember lighting of the Menorah, Spinning the dreidel. Or use it for winter parties, celebrations, or chilly activities enjoying the snow!
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Use this Embellishment Kit to Scrap Holiday Recipes too!
With the Hanukkah Embellishment Kit and other Scrapbooking supplies make a record of Holiday Recipes
Digital Scrap Kit used in the scrap page above: “Let it Snow!” Scrapbooking Kit is a digital scrapbooking kit full of snowflakes for Winter Scrapbooking! Includes digital papers, frames, embellishments, and Alphas!
Celebrate this year’s winter festivities with the “Let it Snow” Digital Scrapbooking Kit! Turn your holiday photos and special memories into a digital scrapbooking pages! This digital scrapbooking kit is filled with beautiful digital supplies to make all of your moments look fabulous!
