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Hanukkah Gift Basket

Hanukkah is an eight day celebration of the Jewish faith that occurs in late November to early December. It is also called the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after the revolt by the Maccabees in 165 B.C.

During Hanukkah a candle is lit each night of the festival. Jewish families observe Hanukkah in the season when those of the Christian faith are observing Christmas festivities. For someone of the Jewish faith, receiving a Hanukkah gift basket would be a big surprise from their non-Jewish friends.

To display the candles, the observers use candelabra called a menorah. It has stands for all eight candles. Each night one more candle is lit than the night before. Prayers are also said as a part of the ceremony. Many observe Hanukkah in their homes or in a synagogue.

For your gift basket, you can include a miniature menorah to be used for decoration. The family will probably have one already to use for candle lighting. But, the candelabra will need replacement candles each year, so you can provide some extra candles for their main menorah.

In a religious store, you will find items for Hanukkah like musical CDs with popular songs for the occasion. This music can be played at night during the observance.

Special food is also eaten during Hanukkah. One dish that is eaten is latkes, potato pancakes. Stores sell the mix used to make the potato pancakes. Put a few boxes of that mix in the basket as well.

Don’t forget to add some dreidels to the basket. Dreidels are toys that children play with each night of Hanukkah after the candle lighting ceremony. The dreidel is like a spinning top with four sides. Each side bears the marking of a Hebrew letter. The letters mean “a great miracle happened here.”

Children use these dreidels to play a game using real or chocolate coins. Money is another gift of Hanukkah, but for a gift basket you can use chocolate coins as a money gift.

Even if you are not Jewish, you can help your Jewish friends to celebrate. A gift basket filled with Hanukkah items is like you getting a gift at Christmas.

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