How to Celebrate the Fifth Night of Hanukkah

Make the fifth night of Hanukkah a chance to reflect on how rich our lives are. The previous nights of this Jewish holiday brought bountiful food, love and family tradition. Celebrate Hanukkah by sharing these blessings with other, less fortunate people. Do a mitzvah, or good deed. Charity and community service can be part of your Hanukkah celebration.

Instructions

1. Get the menorah ready for prayers and candle lighting. It should be clean of candle residue, with burned-out candles replaced with new ones.

2. Light the candles approximately a half hour after sundown. If the fifth night of Hanukkah is on a Friday, the candle lighting ceremony must follow Shabbat.

3. Say the first two Hanukkah prayers as the candles are lit. Light the menorah from right to left using the shamash or lighting candle. Allow the candles to burn for at least half an hour--preferably till they snuff out on their own, if there's no fire hazard.

4. Discuss with children how fortunate you are to have a roof over your head, warm clothes, delicious food--like those potato latkes you just enjoyed. Look at the Hanukkah presents received so far and express gratitude that you can give your kids what they wanted.

5. Choose a good deed, or mitzvah, to commit to. Since the children have just received plenty of gifts, an easy one is to go through all of your kids' old toys and donate ones that aren't regularly used to charity. The same can be done for clothing, household goods and furniture. Make it a family task to find quality, used items for a family in need.

6. Exchange gifts, which typically are token items in the later days of Hanukkah. Tell your kids you're proud of them for their good deeds that night.

Tips & Warnings

• If you give your children Hanukkah "gelt" or coins, encourage them to put some aside for "sedekah" or charity.