Chanukah (sometimes spelt Hanukkah) is the Jewish eight-day festival that harks back to when the Maccabees defeated the Seleucids to reclaim their Holy Temple in Jerusalem in second century BCE. In celebration, the Maccabees tried to light the Temple’s menorah but found they only had enough oil to burn for one day but a miracle took place and the Menorah burned for eight days.
This miracle is commemorated among Jewish communities with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers, celebratory events and fried foods including latkes and donuts known as “sufganiyot”.
This year Chanukah falls from Sunday 18th December until Monday 26th December and there’s plenty of activities you can get involved in over the eight day period to mark the festival.
Make your own dreidel
We are advocates for getting creative with your children to help stimulate their imagination, support learning and development and provide you with opportunities for quality time together. Making your own dreidels this Chanukah is the perfect way to help share the stories and messages of the festival in a fun and engaging way.
You can easily make a clay dreidel by simply cutting a cube shape from your clay so it has four flat faces around its side. Decide which side will be the top and which will be the bottom before gently rolling the bottom corners inwards to form a point on which to spin the dreidel.
Using a separate piece of clay, roll a thin sausage shape and fix it to the top of your dreidel with water before it dries. Once it’s dry, you can then paint and decorate it as you wish but remember to include the four characters on each side (pictured below) so you can play with it afterwards!
NUN - no coins taken
GIMEL - player takes all available coins
HEY - split the available coins between players
SHIN - all players put a coin in
You can also keep it as an ornament or memento from the festival but if you do choose to play a game of dreidel, we suggest using sweets, raisins or game counters to play with in place of coins.
Visit Trafalgar Square’s Menorah (throughout Chanukah)
Trafalgar Square will once again become home to a giant menorah this Chanukah with a new light being lit on each day of the festival. Tickets are not required but it’s definitely a sight to see if you’re travelling through Central London.
Attend the Menorah Lighting in Islington (Sunday 18th December)
Islington’s annual Menorah Lighting has grown to become the second-biggest public menorah lighting in the UK, bringing together Jewish and non-Jewish communities across London and beyond. People of all faiths are invited to witness the lighting and join in with Chanukah songs, listen to music played on a klezmer, enjoy latkes and doughnuts and even make your own candles with the Jewish Museum, so there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy.
This year’s lighting will also be attended by football freestyler, Dan Magness, who will be performing his gravity defying football skills show to bring a bit of World Cup fever to the event ahead of this weekend’s final.
Find out more about the Menorah Lighting here.
Indulge in some of the best Chanukah donuts
Grodzinski’s is London’s oldest Kosher bakery and has got their donut offering down to a tee for Chanukah. While jam-filled donuts are traditional, you can also branch out and try other flavours including chocolate, caramel, nougat, custard and caramel!
Rinkoff’s Bakery is another reliable option for donuts during the festival period. Or, if you’re feeling particularly creative, you can also try your hand at making your own sufganiyot too with this simple kosher donut recipe.
Chanukah Events at JW3
Based on Finchley Road, JW3 is a one-of-a-kind Jewish community centre inspired by Jewish arts, culture, learning and life with a vision to build a vibrant, diverse, unified British-Jewish community.
Over the Chanukah period, JW3 is hosting a series of fun and unique events that families can get stuck into and enjoy.
Chanukah Funukah (Sunday 18th December)
This fun-filled event has a plethora of activities lined up over the course of the day, including chocolate gelt workshops, Maccabeat Dance Parties, doughnuts, face-painting, arts and crafts, and a special musical candle-lighting to welcome the festival.
More details can be found here but festivities begin from 11am and tickets are £5 for adults or £9 for children (under 2s free).
Chanukah Light Ups – (from 19th -22nd December)
Pop down to JW3 for the Light Up sessions which will include Chanukah arts and crafts followed by candle lighting at 4.30pm and festive fun featuring storytelling, music, and (of course) delicious donuts!
19th December: Chanukah card-making led by the volunteers of JW3
20th December: Singing and piano performance from Jewish Music Institute
21th December: Storytelling and crafts with LGBTQ+ Families
22nd December: Storytelling and crafts with PJ Library
These events are free and run from 4pm each day but you can find out more here.
Songs in the Key of Hanukkah (Wednesday 21st December)
In 2010, Erran Baron Cohen, along with an incredible array of collaborators, released an album of Chanukah songs for the 21st century. The album includes a mixture of original music and pieces inspired by traditional Chanukah songs, bringing in the klezmer and a variety of other genres to bring a new spin to the festival.
This Chanukah, Erran has assembled an astounding band to bring this album to life and celebrate by returning to the stage for one unmissable night.
This event runs from 8pm and tickets are £20 so may fall outside children’s bedtimes but more information can be found here.
For Adults
We know that every now and again it’s nice for the parents among us to leave our children under the watchful eye of a nanny or grandparent and enjoy some ‘grown-up time’, so here’s a couple of additional Chanukah activities for just that occasion.
Chutzpah! – Thursday 22nd December
This Chanukah, JW3 is launching a new cabaret night hosted by Guy Woolf and Emily Rose Simons. This will be the first in a series of regular cabaret events, featuring music, spoken word, comedy, live performances, and special open mic slots for those who have the chutzpah to just get up on stage!
This event starts at 8pm and tickets will be £10. To purchase or find out about future Chutzpah! events, click here.
Interfaith Chanukah Celebration with Nisa Nashim (Wednesday 21st December)
Nisa–Nashim is a national network which brings together women of multiple faiths, particularly Jews and Muslims, to inspire and lead social change.
To mark Chanukah, JW3 is inviting members of all faiths to gather and share in a special communal candle-lighting and festive meal and explore how the common threads and themes among the different faiths can help unite us.
This event runs from 6.30pm and tickets are £8 each. More information can be found here.