Hanukkah For Kids
In 2012 Hanukkah
will begin on 8th December.
What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah (also known as Chanukah) is the Jewish Festival of Lights and lasts
eight days. It usually falls in late November or December.
Jews celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the Miracle of the Oil. The Hebrew word Hanukkah means "dedication". Over 2000 years ago, in 165 BC,
the Jews in Judea rebelled against their Syrian ruler, Antiochus, because he
insisted that all Jewish people must worship Greek Gods. After three hard years
of fighting, the Jews defeated Antiochus and, to celebrate, they restored the
Temple of Jerusalem - which had been taken over by the Syrians - and rededicated
it to their God.
As part of the celebrations they lit an oil lamp which should have been kept
burning all the time, even though they could only find
enough oil to keep it burning for one night. But a miracle occurred, and the
oil lamp stayed lit for eight days, which was the time it took to make new oil
for the lamp. This was the Miracle of the Oil.
It was then declared that every year, Jews would remember the day with an
eight-day Festival of Lights and celebrate the miracle of the oil by placing
eight candles in a Menorah (a special candlestick) and lighting one candle for
each evening of the celebration. Electric lights are sometimes used, especially
where where an open flame might be dangerous, such as a hospital room. The
Hanukkah lights are meant to remind those walking by the home about the
holiday’s miracle, so the Menorah is displayed at a prominent window or near the
front door.
During Hanukkah, people exchange gifts and give to the poor and needy.
Spinning the dreidel, a traditional Hanukkah symbol
Whether you are celebrating Hanukkah as a family, or learning about Hanukkah,
we hope that you will find some of our Hanukkah crafts, printables and puzzles
fun! Explore the links below..
Hanukkah Colouring Pages
Hanukkah colouring fun...
Hanukkah Colouring Pages
Hanukkah Cards to Print and colour
Hanukkah Crafts
Hanukkah Crafts
We have a growing collection of fun Hanukkah crafts, including some Menorah crafts, a dreidel to print, decorate and play with, a
Star of David craft, and some potato printing ideas and handprint painting ideas!
Make an origami candle - or 9!
Origami candle and candleholder
Try making a dreidel (add an initial or the traditional characters), a menorah,
or a Star of David!
Hanukkah Fuse Bead Patterns
Hanukkah Printables
We've got all sorts of Hanukkah printables, including acrostic poem printables,
writing prompts, writing paper and notebooking paper, a printable dreidel to
assemble, mini-booklets and more...
Hanukkah Printables
Hanukkah Puzzles
Something to keep the kids busy ...
Hanukkah Puzzles
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