Learn about Hanukkah with a Menorah relay

Katie was excited. Today was an important day – she was going to her friend Elijah’s house to celebrate Hanukkah with him and his family.

Lots of Elijah’s family were visiting for Hanukkah. When everyone had arrived, they all gathered around a candle holder.

‘That’s the menorah,’ explained Elijah. ‘We use the tallest candle in the middle to light the others.’

Elijah’s mum told Katie all about the Hanukkah miracle. A long time ago, in ancient times, the people who were in charge said that Jewish people weren’t allowed to pray to their God or read their holy book. They even destroyed the Jewish people’s temples.

A brave Jewish family stood up for what they believed in – and they won. They wanted to light their menorah, which used oil instead of candles, but they only had enough oil to keep the menorah burning for one day.

Then a miracle happened: the little bit of oil they had kept the menorah burning for eight whole days.

‘That’s why we light our menorah and eat lots of food cooked with oil at Hanukkah,’ Elijah said. Katie looked at all of the food on the table – there were tasty looking doughnuts and crisp potato cakes called latkes.

‘Why are there chocolate coins?’ asked Katie.

‘Find a spot to sit,’ said Elijah’s auntie, ‘and we’ll play the dreidel* game.’ She shared the chocolate coins out, and everyone took it in turns to spin a wooden spinning top called a dreidel.

The Hebrew letters on the dreidel told people whether they’d won or lost some of their chocolate coins. Katie didn’t win the game, but the winner was kind and shared their coins with everyone.

I’m so glad you could come and celebrate Hanukkah with me,’ said Elijah. ‘Hanukkah Sameach**!’

*Dreidel is pronounced drey-del. 

**Hanukkah Sameach means ‘happy Hanukkah’ in Hebrew. Sameach is pronounced su-mey-ah.

By Annabel Rose

Scouts is open to everyone. We don’t identify exclusively with one faith, and we welcome people of all faiths and of none.

We know it’s important for people to learn about each other, including understanding different faiths and beliefs. Scouts always respects people’s beliefs, faiths and cultures, and everyone should be open to learn.

As an inclusive and values based movement, we support our members to engage and learn about different faiths and beliefs in an exciting and meaningful way, even if they don’t have a faith themselves.  

Celebrating and understanding differences, including differences in faiths and beliefs, is an important part of our Scout values, which are:

• Integrity: We act with integrity; we are honest, trustworthy and loyal.
• Respect: We have self-respect and respect for others.
• Care: We support others and take care of the world in which we live.
• Belief: We explore our faiths, beliefs and attitudes.
• Co-operation: We make a positive difference; we co-operate with others and make friends.

Our value of Belief and its exploration helps Scouts to learn from other faiths and beliefs. This encourages them to develop or build their personal beliefs and understand their shared values, whether faith-based on not. 

We know that learning about faiths, beliefs and different attitudes can help to break down barriers, helps us all to recognise what we have in common, and teaches us to value and respect other people. It also helps us to build up respect, acceptance and knowledge for each other, leading to a more co-operative and inclusive society. 

In our diverse society, people can sometimes feel cautious talking about  this sensitive subject. However, it's important that Scouts offers young people safe, exciting and open spaces to explore faiths and beliefs. They should be able to engage in personal reflection, as they question and develop their opinions and understanding of the world around them.

Making time for personal reflection and developing our beliefs means exploring the places, people, communities, celebrations or stories which hold meaning for us, and it may not necessarily mean exploring a faith. 

For example, someone’s shared values may be their Scout Values and that person may choose to reflect on them at important times, such as when they make their Promise. Others may choose to reflect at certain times of the year, such as a faith-based festival, birthdays, meaningful events or at New Year. Some people may still celebrate events, such as Christmas, but use it as a time to celebrate family, friends and loved ones, as well as for charity and giving.

Discover more about Faiths and Beliefs in Scouts.

• Hanukkah linked to the lunar calendar, so the date changes each year. But it’s usually sometime in November or December.
• During Hanukkah, people remember a time over 2,000 years ago in Israel, when Jewish people won their freedom to practice their religion. There was a king who wanted everyone to be the same. He would not let Jewish people worship, and tried to make them pray to gods they didn’t believe in.
• A small group of Jews fought against the king’s army and eventually won. They lit an oil lamp in their temple to celebrate.
• A miracle is celebrated during Hanukkah. The one jug of oil that was left in the temple should have only lasted for one day, but instead it burned for eight days. This is why Hanukkah lasts for eight days.
• People celebrate Hanukkah by sharing gifts, playing a game with a special spinning top called a dreidel, and eating foods cooked in oil, such as donuts, to remember the miracle.