Because there was only enough oil to last for one day, Judah sent for more, but learned it would take at least a week to arrive. Miraculously, the menorah burned for eight nights on that small amount of oil. This year the holiday begins on December 4. Each night, the family says a blessing and lights the menorah. A special candle, the Shamosh, is lit first each night, and the other candles are lit from its flame.
Children play a game with a four-sided top called a dreidel.
Legend has it that Jews who met secretly to study the Torah while Antiochus was in power kept a dreidel on the table, so that if they were discovered, they could tell the soldiers they were playing a game. Both dishes are fried in oil as a reminder of the oil in the Temple. An American custom associated with Hanukkah is the giving of a gift each night. Gift-giving takes on a greater role in the United States because Christmas falls in the same month. To my brother and his new bride in Israel, lighting the Hanukkah candles together for the first time was a quiet moment, not associated with gift giving, a stark contrast to celebrations in America.