Hanukkah Chanukah

Is it Hanukkah Or Chanukah Both are correct It depends if you use the Latin or Hebrew dialect Regardless of what you say The meaning is the same both here and far away It is an eight day historical event To commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over a Greco-Syrian monarch that tried to circumvent With his fall The Jews were released from his thrall Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah is the celebration that gave the Jews back their rights A lantern was lit in the Holy Temple that shined bright for eight nights They only expected it to last one night to read the Torah This gave rise to the eight candles on the Hanukkiah, not a menorah The Hanukkiah has nine candles total This tells the story of an anecdotal Eight are the same height The ninth known as the shamash is used to light One candle added right to left per night The candles are lit left to right Hanukkah also has a spiritual aspect This is a time to surely show respect A warm and toasty ritual to ward off the winter blahs Let’s give them an applause As this is not a time to attend the synagogue or read the Torah Instead, it is a time to spend time with those you love to give off a good aura Some Jews give presents And participate in other events While others decorate To include their gate Most of all, Hanukkah is a time for food, drinks, and to share stories Of various categories Now that we covered the history Let’s get more into the elements of the story We already covered the Hanukkiah and the history of the Maccabees quest Now we can talk about the rest Just like Christmas, Hanukkah has songs of its own Some we have heard and others not well known From dreidels to the glory of God These songs have made others applaud Next comes the yummy fried treats Oh, all kinds of main dishes and sweets From latkes to sufganiyot made in the kitchen My what a tradition Dreidels are a customary tradition Originally used to fool the oppression Children would pretend to play with these in order to read the Torah instead Today dreidels have four Hebrew characters translating to “Great Miracle Happened There” reminding us not to be misled Gold coins known as gelt Watch out, today’s chocolate ones melt Children would give these to their teachers and aides And parents would give them to their children for making good grades Gelt is also a symbol of Jewish independence While not forgetting about their transcendence