Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights: eight nights of candles, fried food, songs, small gifts and games, celebrated in December in Israel and by Jewish families all over the world. In 2026 the first candle is lit on the evening of Friday, December 4, and the last night is Friday, December 11, with the festival ending on Saturday, December 12. This guide explains what Hanukkah is, where it comes from, how it is celebrated, and which games keep a family evening or a classroom busy for all eight nights.
What Is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah means "dedication" in Hebrew. The festival remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem more than two thousand years ago, and the story of a small amount of oil that kept the Temple's lamp burning for eight days. Because the date follows the Hebrew calendar, it moves around in the Gregorian calendar and falls somewhere between late November and late December.
It is a joyful, family-centred festival rather than a solemn one. Work and school go on as usual outside Israel, and the celebration happens in the evening, at home, around the lights.
Where Hanukkah Comes From
In the second century BCE, Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Greek king Antiochus IV, who banned Jewish practice and turned the Temple in Jerusalem into a shrine to Greek gods. A small group of rebels led by Judah the Maccabee and his brothers rose up and, against the odds, took Jerusalem back.
When they cleaned and rededicated the Temple, the story goes, they found only one jar of pure olive oil, enough to light the menorah for a single day. It burned for eight days, long enough to prepare new oil. That miracle is why Hanukkah lasts eight nights and why oil is at the heart of its food.
How Hanukkah Is Celebrated
- Lighting the menorah. A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, holds eight candles plus a helper candle, the shamash, which lights the others. One candle is lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on until all eight burn on the last night. Families say the blessings, sing, and often place the menorah in a window so passers-by can see the light.
- Food fried in oil. Latkes, crispy potato pancakes with applesauce or sour cream, are the classic in many families. In Israel the favourite is sufganiyot, doughnuts filled with jam and dusted with sugar, sold in every bakery for weeks.
- Songs. "Maoz Tzur" (Rock of Ages) is sung after the candles are lit, and children sing about the dreidel.
- Gelt and gifts. Children receive gelt, small amounts of money or chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil, and many families give a small gift on each night.
- The dreidel. A four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side, played for chocolate coins, nuts or raisins.
The Dreidel, Explained
The four letters on a dreidel, Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin, stand for "Nes gadol haya sham": a great miracle happened there. In Israel, the last letter is Pe instead of Shin, for "a great miracle happened here".
Each player puts a coin in the pot and spins in turn. Nun means nothing happens, Gimel takes the whole pot, Hei takes half, and Shin means you add a coin. The game is pure luck, which is exactly why small children can beat their grandparents at it.
Games for All Eight Nights
Eight nights is a lot of evenings to fill, which is why families and teachers look for games that work for every age at once.
- Dreidel tournaments with chocolate gelt, one round each night.
- Latke tasting with a family vote on the best topping.
- Hanukkah trivia about the story, the food and the traditions.
- Hanukkah bingo. Bingo suits the festival because grandparents know it, children can play it with a little help, and the chocolate coins double as markers.
Two kinds of bingo work especially well:
- Hanukkah word bingo. Every square holds a word from the festival, and the caller reads them out one by one. Play a round on each of the eight nights, or eight short rounds in one evening.
- Classroom vocabulary bingo. The teacher reads a short description, such as "the candle that lights the others", and the class finds the word: shamash. It works in religious schools and in any class learning about winter festivals around the world.
A Hanukkah Word List to Start From
Menorah, shamash, candles, dreidel, Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin, latkes, sufganiyot, applesauce, sour cream, gelt, olive oil, Maccabees, Jerusalem, Temple, miracle, eight nights, blessings, window, presents, Maoz Tzur, family.
That is 24 words, exactly enough for a 5×5 card with a free space in the middle. You can print Hanukkah word bingo cards with this list, where every card is shuffled differently. A blue ink on the white background gives the cards the festival's blue and white, and one card per page leaves big squares for small hands and chocolate-coin markers.
A Hanukkah word bingo card made with the generator: the word list above, blue ink and the event title "Hanukkah Bingo".