Students Celebrate Hanukkah

Briana Goodfriend and lakecentralnews

Among the most prominent holidays of the last month of the year, Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday lasting eight days, is one that is celebrated widely in America; however, it is not commonly known exactly why it is celebrated and how.
“We celebrate Hanukkah because of a miracle that happened,” Aaron Harmen (12) said.
According to, this holiday commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E.
The Jewish troops’ Temple’s menorah was lit for eight days. They only had one day’s worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway, and to their surprise, the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days. This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light the menorah.
 “One night we have a big Hanukkah supper and we light the menorah and open presents,” Emily Hendrickson (12) said.
   While many Jewish families have certain traditions when celebrating Hanukkah, there are some traditions that are universally practiced. This includes lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods. Even though Hanukkah is one of the less important Jewish holidays, for many people that celebrate it, it is truly special to them.
“I have something not a lot of people know about. It’s something different from Christmas; everyone celebrates Christmas,” Hendrickson said.
Though many people celebrate Hanukkah because of their religion, Harmen has a deeper meaning for celebrating it.
“My dad never knew his biological father but became Jewish because he felt a calling for Judaism and later found out his biological dad really was Jewish,” Harmen said.
This year Hanukkah will be celebrated on the Dec. 20.