How to Celebrate the First Night of Hanukkah

The first night of Hanukkah is the most important one. After months of anticipating this meaningful, family-centered Jewish holiday, the Festival of Lights at last begins. You can celebrate Hanukkah on the first night by cooking traditional foods, lighting candles, saying prayers and exchanging gifts. Games and other traditions also make the first night special for children.

Instructions

1. Dust off your menorah and fill it with candles. One for each night of Hanukkah, plus the shamash, the candle used for lighting the others. Place the menorah either on a windowsill or in a doorway opposite the mezuzah, which holds the prayers for entering a Jewish home.

2. Gather around the menorah about 20 to 30 minutes after sundown and use the shamash to light the very first candle, on the far right. Say all three prayers for Hanukkah on the first night. Follow this by the Hanerot Halalu prayer. Ask your synagogue for these prayers of find them online (see Resources below).

3. Enjoy potato latkes with applesauce, prepared especially for Hanukkah. Donuts are also a good Hanukkah dish. Eat this as dessert for your dinner or serve it along with other traditional Jewish foods as part of a Hanukkah meal.

4. Tell the story of Hanukkah. Jewish children like to act out the drama of the Macabees and the miracle of light. You can read a Hanukkah children's book aloud, stage a play or both.

5. Play the dreidel game. Sing the "I Have a Little Dreidel Song" as you play.

6. Exchange gifts. Typically, parents give children one large gift on the first night of Hanukkah and smaller gifts on the other nights. Couples usually exchange gifts on the first night as well, and then give each other small gifts on subsequent nights.

7. Enjoy some chocolate Hanukkah gelt--or throw around some real coins if you'd rather give money than chocolate.

Tips & Warnings

• If the first night of Hanukkah falls on Shabbat, or the Jewish Sabbath, light the Shabbat candles first and say the prayers. Hanukkah candles can be lit about a half hour later.

Resources

• Hannukah prayers