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Around the World in 8 Days; Exploring the Diversity of our

Chanukah Traditions
Lesson plan for Grades 3-6
45-60 minutes
The Skewer question: How do different communities celebrate Chanukah?

Apritif: Your family tradition.

The Entre: Around the world in 8 Days: Chanukah Traditions
Tea with Nana: Map-Tradition Match game
Supplies needed: Map of the World, White Board, Markers, Cards with
different traditions on them, tape, pens and paper.

The Skewer question: How do different communities celebrate

Chanukah?
Aim: Students will learn about diverse Chanukah traditions from around
the world.
Apritif: Our Chanukah Traditions:
Welcome! In todays session, we are going to go on a tour of the worlds
Chanukah traditions. We are going to learn about how different Jewish
communities celebrate and commemorate the holiday of Chanukah. To start
off, lets find ourselves on the map. (Facilitator asks for a volunteer to come
up and find location on a world map). Thank you! Now, how do we, in our
community, celebrate Chanukah? What are some of your favorite Chanukah
traditions?
Note to Facilitator: The facilitator will create a spider association diagram
on the board with words and ideas that come from the group. Words like
latkes, candles, menorah, jelly donuts, Maccabees will probably be written
up on the board. The facilitator can ask: Do you think that if Jewish kids in
different countries did this activity the words on this board would be the
same?
Entre: Around the world in 8 Days: Chanukah Traditions
We started our tour at home, here in our community. Now in the middle of
our learning circle there are cards with descriptions of different Chanukah
traditions from around the world. Here are the directions:

Take a card and read the description of the tradition and the country of
origin of that tradition.
Find the country of origin on the world map.
Prepare a creative way to present this tradition to the class. You can
show the group the tradition, act out a scene of a family
commemorating the tradition etc.

As each couple of students present each tradition from the cards to the
group, the facilitator will make sure to indicate where each tradition comes
from on the map. Following this, the facilitator can ask:
How do people decide what traditions they will keep? What influences the
way we celebrate Chanukah in different places?
Note to Facilitator: Students may say that the foods are different in
different places or the customs are influenced by the people living around

you, both Jewish and non-Jewish. This question can be left out for younger
kids if it
Tea with Nana: Map-Tradition Match game- To summarize this activity,
students will play a game of memory using the cards with the traditions on
them and cards with the names of the countries of origin. This fun activity
will help students remember what they learned and emphasize the diversity
of Chanukah traditions amongst the Jewish communities of the world.

Cards for the Entre Activity:

During the nights of

Chanukah after dinner,
friends gather at one of
the houses and enjoy
each others company.
The host prepares special
foods and the guest
discuss current events
and tell stories.

It is customary to eat
Sfing several times
throughout the holiday.
-Morocco

After lighting Chanukah

candles it is customary to
sing Maoz Tzur, or Rock of
Ages.

-Ashkenaz

-Kurdistan

We say 8 verses
connected with Light
and candles when we
take out the Torah
before reading it (on
Mondays, Thursdays
and Shabbat).
-Morocco

Rosh Hodesh (the

Beginning of the Jewish
month of Tevet) is called
The Rosh Hodesh for
Girls. This day is a
holiday, the mother of the
house makes honey
cakes and it is customary
to send small gifts to the
girls of the family. At
every house there is a
festive meal in memory
of the heroic actions of
Judith.

The father lights the first

candle (the one
symbolizing the day of
Chanukah) and lets the
children who have not
reached their Bar or Bat
mitzvah age to light the
rest of the candles.
-Turkey

-Tunisia
Mothers bring their
married daughters Sfing
(a fried donut confection).
For many families, it is
also customary to bring
Sfing to the elderly at
Synagogue and teachers
and students in the
heder

It is customary to pass
out oil to the poor so that
they will be able to light
the Chanukia
-Turkey

You save the extra oil and

wicks left over from
lighting the Chanukia
over the eight days of
Chanukah and you burn
them all on the 8th day.
-Kurdistan

-Libya
The Chanukia hangs in
the entrance to the
house, facing the Mezuza
and it is left there until
Purim.

Women wear clothing

decorated with bells
and they hold bells in
their hands that they
ring after the lighting of
-Tunisia the Chanukah candles.

Candle lighting occurs

in the yard of the
Hassidic leader, late at
night. Participants sing
songs, dance and
celebrate together.

-Yemen

-Hassidic Jewish
Communities

Memory Cards for the Tea with Nana activity (These can be cut up with
scissors)
During the nights of
Chanukah after dinner,
friends gather at one of
the houses and enjoy
each others company.
The host prepares special
foods and the guest
discuss current events
and tell stories.

It is customary to eat
Sfing several times
throughout the holiday.

After lighting Chanukah

candles it is customary to
sing Maoz Tzur, or Rock of
Ages.

We say 8 verses
connected with Light
and candles when we
take out the Torah
before reading it (on
Mondays, Thursdays
and Shabbat).

Rosh Hodesh (the

Beginning of the Jewish
month of Tevet) is called
The Rosh Hodesh for
Girls. This day is a
holiday, the mother of the
house makes honey
cakes and it is customary
to send small gifts to the
girls of the family. At
every house there is a
festive meal in memory
of the heroic actions of
Judith.

The father lights the first

candle (the one
symbolizing the day of
Chanukah) and lets the
children who have not
reached their Bar or Bat
mitzvah age to light the
rest of the candles.

Mothers bring their

married daughters Sfing
(a fried donut confection).
For many families, it is
also customary to bring
Sfing to the elderly at
Synagogue and teachers
and students in the
heder

It is customary to pass
out oil to the poor so that
they will be able to light
the Chanukia

You save the extra oil and

wicks left over from
lighting the Chanukia
over the eight days of
Chanukah and you burn
them all on the 8th day.

The Chanukia hangs in

the entrance to the
house, facing the Mezuza

Women wear clothing

decorated with bells
and they hold bells in

Candle lighting occurs

in the yard of the
Hassidic leader, late at

and it is left there until

Purim.

their hands that they

ring after the lighting of
the Chanukah candles.

night. Participants sing

songs, dance and
celebrate together.

Kurdistan

Morocco

Ashkenaz

Morocco

Tunisia

Turkey

Libya

Turkey

Kurdistan

Yemen

Hassidic
Jewish
Communities

Tunisia