Hannukah

A note about Hannukah in 2023

This year, Hannukah celebrations may be different to normal, and its best to check in with your Jewish colleagues about how they would like this festival to be marked. As this is partly a festival of light, it can be helpful to bring some light in the darkness. Equally we need to remember that people experience and acknowledge things in different ways, and that’s okay too.

Some additional ways you can support your Jewish colleagues this year, include:

• Ensure colleagues feel heard and safe to acknowledge their faith; consider utilising Mental Health First Aiders to provide support, or connecting with local faith leaders or communities for advice
• Signpost your mental health and wellbeing support and consider offering additional counselling sessions where it is available
• Equip colleagues to avoid microaggressions e.g., assumptions about what colleagues may feel or believe, sweeping statements about people’s faith, beliefs or cultural backgrounds
• Support for dignity at work – remind colleagues of being inclusive at work and that their behaviour towards colleagues should be professional and in line with your policies

What is Hannukah?

Hannukah is a Jewish festival and it celebrates one of the greatest miracles in Jewish history.
2,000 years ago, a Greek king called King Antiochus banned all Jewish rituals and tried to force the Jews to worship him and pray to Greek Gods. A group of Jews called the Maccabees refused to do this and fought a three-year-long war to reclaim their Jewish temple from the Greeks.
The Maccabees won the war and then cleaned and repaired their temple, which had been damaged in the war. To celebrate, they lit an oil lamp. The oil lamp was only supposed to last for one day, but miraculously it burned for eight days.

When is Hannukah?

Hannukah is most likely to start on the evening of Thursday 7 December 2023 and will end on Friday 15 December 2023.
Please check the date closer to the time as this may be subject to change because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar. This means the Hebrew calendar is regulated by the positions of both the moon and the sun, so the time or date may change.

Why does the Jewish community celebrate Hannukah?

Hannukah means “dedication” in Hebrew. The Jewish community celebrates Hannukah to remember the re-dedication of the Jewish temple and the miracle of the oil lamp burning for eight days instead of one. To many Jewish people, Hannukah is also a celebration of their right to practice their religion freely.

Hannukah facts you should know

Here are a few quick Hannukah facts to know:

• There is no one correct way to spell Hannukah in the English language because it is a Hebrew word. Hebrew cannot always be spelt with English letters, so there is no standard English spelling for Hannukah. This is why some people may spell the holiday as “Hanukah” or “Hannukkah” or “Chanukah” or “Chanuka” and these are all accepted spellings.
• Hannukah lasts for eight days because that is how long the oil lasted for during the Hannukah miracle.
• Some Jewish families will give each other small gifts on each of the eight nights of Hannukah.
• One of the ways Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah is by eating foods fried in oil such as latkes (which are a kind of potato fritter), pancakes and doughnuts. This helps Jewish people remember the miracle of the oil lasting eight days in the temple.
• Dreidel is a game most commonly played during Hannukah. You play it by spinning the dreidel and bet on which Hebrew letter will be shown when the dreidel stops spinning. You can learn how to play the game online.
• Jewish families will light the Hanukkiah or Menorah during the festival of lights. A Hanukkiah is a type of candelabra, with nine candle holders representing how long the oil lamp in the Hannukah story lasted. It represents the miracle of the oil burning for eight days instead of one. Some people confuse the Hanukkiah with the Menorah, but it is important to remember that the Menorah is one of the Jewish symbols that represents the Jewish faith as a whole, while the Hanukkiah represents the Hannukah miracle and some may only light it during the festival of lights.

How to celebrate Hannukah in the workplace

There are many ways to celebrate Hannukah at work, and this year it’s even more important to connect with your Jewish colleagues to see how they would like it to be marked. Some ways to mark the festival include:

• Learning about Judaism with our Judaism factsheet, Inclusive Employers members can download it for free.
• Listening to and sharing our Faith, Religion and Belief at Work podcast.
• Hosting a webinar or event about religion in the workplace to raise awareness about Hanukkah and what your Jewish colleagues may need during the holiday.
• Using the inclusion bitesize toolkit to encourage your colleagues to discuss what they know about Hanukkah.
• Learning about how you can make the workplace more faith inclusive with our Religion and Belief in the Workplace guide, Inclusive Employers members can access this for free.
• Hosting a Hanukkah workplace party with your Jewish colleagues where you can treat everyone to traditional Hanukkah food and play the dreidel. It is important to be aware of kosher food rules if you plan to do this. It may also be helpful to seek advice from the Jewish community.

If you’re a member and need more support with recognising Hanukkah, contact your account manager. If you’re not yet a member, get in touch today to see how we can help.