Video Transcript

Hanukkah Sameach, which means “Happy Hanukkah” in Hebrew. Welcome to the Pin Oak Press! My name is Jade. Let’s dive into today’s story.

For Jewish people, Hanukkah represents a holy miracle. In the 2nd century BCE, Jewish priest and warrior Judas Maccabeus found only enough oil to light the menorah—a special candle holder with nine candles—in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days. This event is celebrated as Hanukkah, an eight-day holiday.

This year, Hanukkah begins on December 25th and ends on January 2nd. The menorah has nine candles, with the middle candle used to light one of the eight candles each day. Lighting the candles symbolizes the faith and perseverance of the Jewish people and how light overcomes darkness.

Many students at Pin Oak celebrate Hanukkah during the holiday season. From November 28th to January 1st, Christian holidays such as the widely celebrated Christmas often receive most of the attention. We want to shine a light on the different ways that students and their families celebrate Hanukkah.

We had the chance to sit down with one of our seventh-grade students, Ariella Leveine, to learn about her Hanukkah traditions.

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Ariella Leveine: During Hanukkah, my family and I play dreidel, a game where we win gelt (chocolate coins) as rewards. Our traditions include lighting the menorah every day—one candle for each of the eight days.

We also eat latkes, which are fried potato pancakes, and sufganiyot, which are fried jelly donuts. One of our unique family traditions is having a Hanukkah bush, which is basically our version of a Christmas tree. It’s our way of having a similar festive experience.

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Thank you, Ariella! We also spoke with Julia Fleischer, another seventh-grade student at Pin Oak who celebrates Hanukkah. Here’s how her family’s traditions differ.

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Julia: My family plays dreidel during Hanukkah as well. We light the menorah, eat dinner, and then open presents.

The meals my parents make sometimes include latkes, which are like pancakes but fried. A unique tradition in my family is that we only eat latkes at my grandparents’ house.

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Thank you, Julia, and Happy Hanukkah!

Thank you, Julia and Ariella, for sharing your Hanukkah traditions with us. That’s it for now, Chargers. Bye, and thanks for watching!