Each evening of Hanukkah, one more candle is lit, with a special blessing. The menorah symbolizes the burning light in the temple, as well as marking the eight days of the Hanukkah festival. Some say it also celebrates the light of freedom won by the Maccabees for the Jewish people. This way, if they were found studying, they could quickly pretend that they had only been playing. The Hebrew letters also represent Yiddish words that tell how to play the dreidel game.
Players take turns spinning the dreidel, waiting to see which letter lands face up.
The game ends when a single player wins all the tokens. In the United States, the most widespread Hanukkah food is latkes, or potato pancakes, a custom that may have developed in Eastern Europe. In Israel, the favorite Hanukkah food is sufganiya, a kind of jelly donut cooked in oil. Israelis eat sufganiyot for more than a month before the start of Hanukkah. Eating dairy products, especially cheese, is another Hanukkah tradition.