Happy Hanukkah!

 

Describe the above picture.  Can you explain what is happening?

Click on the link below and scroll down to the video.  Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1.  What celebration do they talk about in the video?

2.  What is this festival sometimes called?   Can you think of another festival with this name?

3.  Who celebrates this festival?

4.  When did they first start celebrating it? 

5.  Why did people start celebrating it?

6.  How long does the celebration last?

7.  What do people do during this festival?

8.  Does this festival remind you of something (is it similar to something that you know about)?

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: How an ancient revolt sparked the Festival of Lights

Watch these videos from Elmo's World.  Which things from the National Geographic video and article does Elmo mention?

MODERN DAY MAP

Watch the video above about how people in Israel celebrate Hanukkah.

1.  In the story of Hanukkah, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?

2.  What is a "yamulke"?

3.  What is a sufganiot?

4.  How old is this festival?

5.  What is a "miracle"?

6.  What is the Hanukkah miracle?

7.  Why did the Maccabees light the Menorah?

8.  What is an important ingredient in the foods people eat during this celebration?  Can you explain why?

9.  What does the Dreidel have on its four sides?

10.  Why was playing with the Dreidel important during the time of the Maccabees?

11.  What symbol appears on the screen at the end of the video?

12.  Who is Adam Sandler?

SUMMARY

The Story of Hanukkah

Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) is a religious holiday which is celebrated by Jewish (or Hebrew) people, or those who practice a religion called Judaism. Hanukkah lasts eight nights and is often called the Festival of Lights.

This holiday occurs on different dates each year, with Hanukkah starting anytime from the end of November to the end of December.

The Hanukkah holiday is an old one. It honours the struggle of ancient Jews to restore the Temple of Jerusalem.

More than 2000 years ago, Judea was ruled by the Syrian king Antiochus, who said that Jews should give up worshipping Yahweh and worship the Greek gods instead.

The Jews refused to abandon Yahweh. They decided to do something about it.

A man named Judah Maccabee got a group of people together to fight back. These people got more people to join, and they soon had an army.

They fought back. For three years, the Jews battled the Syrians for control of Judea. Finally, the Jews won.

They cleaned the Temple of Jerusalem, removing all Greek symbols and restored the Jewish symbols. The job was finished on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. This is the day Hanukkah is celebrated. The day varies in the Western calendar.

To help celebrate, Judah and his followers lit an oil lamp. The supply of oil was very low.  There was only enough for one day, but this lamp stayed lit for eight days.

To honour this extraordinary event, Jews today celebrate the Eight Days of Hanukkah and call it the "Festival of Lights." They light a special eight-branched candlestick called a menorah.

People today give each other gifts and children receive small presents for each night of the festival.  Special foods are made, there are special dinners, and people remember their ancestors who fought to take their temple back.

1.  Look at the underlined words.  What do they mean?

2.  Write down the sentences in green.  What do you notice about the structure of these sentences?

3.  Classify the past simple verbs into regular and irregular verbs.

4.  Divide the regular verbs into three groups according to how you pronounce the -ed ending.