By Toby Amir Fox

Hanuakkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. As the story goes, when the Jewish people went back to clean and rebuild the Temple, they only had enough oil to provide light for one night. However, that little bit of oil miraculously lasted for eight days. Also known as the “Festival of Lights,” Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. On each night, Jews light a nine-branched Menorah and add one additional candle on each night of the holiday.

Every family has their own traditions. I would like to share our families traditions with you.

The Hanukkah Table. Over the years I’ve managed to collect an array of Hannukiah’s (menorahs) of varying shapes and sizes. Some are sentimental, like the one my grandmother gave my mom before she left for college, which she later gave to me and which I will someday give to my children. Others are showpieces that we display but never light. Each of my children has their own Hanukkah menorah, and they have menorahs that they have made in preschool/religious school over the years. The Hanukkah Table is just that, a table where we display all of our menorahs. The kids love having them on display and it is where we like to gather as a family to light them during the holiday.

Fun fact: A menorah has seven branches and represents the burning bush as seen by Moses on Mount Sinai and the seven days of the week. A Hannukiah or Hanukkah Menorah has nine branches: eight for the eight nights of Hanukah and a ninth called the Shamash which lights the others. More