Hanukkah Candle Art Activities
Candle-making is a common activity in Hebrew Schools and yeshivot during Hanukkah time. However, this is also a great arts and crafts activity to do in secular schools when learning about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. Candle crafts can be appropriate for different age groups and skill levels. Hanukkah lasts for eight days and nights; when celebrating Hanukkah each Jew needs a supply of 44 Hanukkah candles.
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Hand-Rolled Beeswax Candles
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Beeswax sheets are a versatile candle-making supply. They can be cut to any size, and can make pillars or tapers. Beeswax sheets are also easy to use because hand-rolled beeswax candles all use the same type of wick: thick cotton round braid.
Use a craft knife to cut beeswax rectangles 6 inches high and 2 inches wide. Cut pieces of wick 6 1/2 to 7 inches long. Press the wick into the long side of the beeswax rectangle. Roll the wax gently around the wick. It may be helpful to warm the wax briefly with a heat gun or hair dryer before rolling around the wick. Avoid aiming the hot air on the wax too long, as that will result in melting the wax.
This is a nice Hanukkah project for elementary-age children. Preschoolers often have not yet developed the fine motor skills necessary to complete this project. If supplying every child with enough wax and wick to make 44 candles is too expensive, devise a lesson plan in which each child makes nine candles, the amount needed on the last night of Hanukkah.
Dipped Hanukkah Tapers
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Older children and adults may hand-dip wicks into hot liquid wax to make Hanukkah tapers. The candles may be 6 inches tall or taller. They do not need to be dipped as many times as common taper candles.
Always melt wax in a double boiler. A coffee can works well as a wax pot. After melting the wax, remove the coffee can from the heat source and keep in a pot of hot water to prevent cooling. Cut lengths of wick long enough to dip two candles at a time; you hold the wick in the middle and dip both ends into the wax. Allow three seconds between dips. Once the Hanukkah candles are of the correct thickness to fit into your menorah, hang them on a hook to harden.
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Pasta Candles
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Use dry, uncooked pasta to simulate Hanukkah candles in this art project appropriate for preschool-age children. Use manicotti and jumbo pasta shells. Color the dry pasta by placing a little food coloring and a tablespoon or two of rubbing alcohol in a plastic bag; make certain there are no holes in the bag. Add the pasta to the bag and shake. Color the jumbo shells bright yellow. Color the manicotti royal blue or choose many different colors. When the pasta is coated with color, pour from the bag onto a paper plate or plastic tray and allow to dry overnight.
The children may use white craft glue to attach manicotti to a small length of wood. The manicotti must be standing upright. Then, the children use glue to place a "flame," or jumbo shell, into the top of each manicotti "candle." For the shamash, either glue two manicotti pastas together to make a taller candle, or glue something such as a smaller piece of wood to the base so the shamash sits higher than the other candles.
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- Photo Credit hanuka candles in hanukkiya image by Igor Shootov from Fotolia.com
