The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is approaching and as a jewish student on campus I thought it would be interesting to see what the students at Louisville know about this celebration. One-third of the student body answered (twenty percent of which are Jewish) and among the top answers for “What do you know about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah?” was the time of celebration, typical activities and the food that is eaten.

The majority of the responses on when Hanukkah is celebrated was December, which is correct! Funny enough however, this year it happens to start in November, which is very rare.

The last time Hanukkah started in November was in 2013 and it began on Thanksgiving. American Jews called that year “Thanksgivukkah'' and it is calculated that this will never happen again. Before 2013, the last time Hannnukah was in November was all the way back in 1861!

Many of the answers for what are typical Hanukkah activities include playing the dreidel game, lighting the menorah, eating, praying, dancing, eating gelt (chocolate coins), going to temple and giving gifts. All of these are indeed typical aspects of a Hanukkah celebration; some jewish families adopt all these traditions and others may just do a few.

Fun fact: gift-giving was actually not originally a part of Hanukkah traditions. It is a very American tradition that has slowly influenced other jews around the world. It was copied from Christmas and began because many jewish kids felt sad that they did not get any gifts when they saw Christian kids getting them every year.

This new tradition is slightly hypocritical to one of the original teachings from the story of Hanukkah, which was to resist assimilation. Nevertheless, it is a joyful tradition that many have adapted.

The top responses for what foods eaten during Hanukkah were latkes, which is understandable. Latkes are usually the food that is associated with Hanukkah, however it is not the only important tradition.

Jelly doughnuts, also known as sufganiyot ( סופגניות‎) and pronounced “suf-ɡani-jot” are a common treat and can be found in Jewish bakeries only during this holiday.

Blintzes, which is a paper thin pancake rolled around sweet cheese and fried until golden, are sometimes eaten and essentially any other fried foods are too. The common factor between all the foods mentioned above is that they are fried in oil and that is significant to Hanukkah.

Briefly, the story of Hanukkah is about how in 168 B.C., the Seleucid Greek empire outlawed the practice of Judaism and destroyed the Jewish altar in the big temple. A small group of jews, known as the Maccabees, rebelled against the Greeks and regained control of the Temple.

They would always light the huge menorah and when they reclaimed it, they discovered there was not enough oil to keep the candles going until the next batch of oil could be made in eight days. However, it is said that there was a miracle and the little pot of oil lasted all eight days and nights. The reason why fried food is eaten on Hanukkah is to remember the miracle that the little pot of oil kept the menorah lit.

I hope this article shed some light on popular Hanukkah celebrations in the hope of spreading a little more information about this holiday!