Eight nights of commemoration: Hanukkah 2025 

By Zara Serrano, Staff Reporter

Hanukkah – otherwise known as the Jewish Festival of Dedication – is a celebration that represents courage, enlightenment, resilience, and triumph over struggling times. The holiday reminds us to have faith in difficult situations. 

This year, Hanukkah ran from Sunday, Dec. 14 at sundown and ends tonight at sundown. The date varies each year based on the Gregorian calendar.

Due to the fact that the Hebrew Lunisolar Calendar runs on moon cycles, Hanukkah is always on the 25th day of the Jewish month “Kislev”.

Angelina Brown, a freshman at Branford High School, said her favorite things about the holiday are spending time with family, enjoying different types of food, and getting to watch her dad recite prayers in Hebrew.

“Fun traditions that I have in my family are playing dreidel, collecting gelt (chocolate coins), blessings, songs, and menorah lighting,” Brown said to The Buzz. 

The dreidel, a Jewish spinning top game, may seem like just a game, but under the wood, contains a deeper meaning. Each of the letters is an acronym for the phrase, “Nes Gadol Hayah Sham”, which translates to “A great miracle happened there”. This relates back to the marvel of Hanukkah, the survival of the flame. 

The origins of the holiday date to the second century BCE. Antiochus lV Epiphanes was the ruler of the Land of Israel from 175 – 164 BCE. During his reign, he banned the Jewish religion and forced all Israelis to worship the Greek gods. 

Here is where the Maccabean Revolt comes in; the Maccabeans were a family of Jewish warriors who rebelled against Antiochus and his empire. They were ultimately successful, and re-established religious freedom in Israel.

During the rededication of the Second Temple, there was a scarce amount of olive oil to keep the menorah lighted. The blaze ended up shining for eight nights instead of one night it was said to last, letting them have time to gather more oil.

This miracle is what inspired the holiday; families light the nine-candled menorah to represent each of the eight nights, plus the candle that lit the rest. People sing, dance, play games, and eat delicious foods containing olive oil. 

Commonly served during Hanukkah, is the latke. Latkes are crispy, fried potato pancakes which also include eggs and onions. They have an outer layer of breadcrumbs and are filled with oil. Oil is usually the central ingredient in most Hanukkah dishes, a nod to the olive oil used to light the menorah.

What’s a party without music and dancing? One of the most well-known dances is The Hora .This dance represents having joyous times and joining in unity in the Jewish faith.

Mostly performed at formal events, people link arms in a circle, with lots of movement involved. An honored person, like the Bride or Groom at a Jewish wedding, is then lifted up on a chair by everyone below, holding a handkerchief.

Sometimes, all you need is a little hope; that is the true miracle of Hanukkah, coming together as a community to face hardship.

Happy Hanukkah from The Buzz staff!

Editor-in-Chief Owen Lentner contributed to this article.