How to celebrate Hanukkah

Hanukkah commemorates a series of miracles which started with a victory (more than 2,000 years ago) of a tiny army of Jews (the Maccabees) over Syrian invaders. They immediately rebuilt their desecrated temple but when they went to relight the holy light — which was meant to burn constantly — they found only enough oil for a day. It would take eight days to source more special oil, but what they had lasted for the entire time until more arrived, which was the second miracle.

So, for eight consecutive evenings as darkness falls, we light candles in a special candlestick called a menorah or chanukiah. An extra candle is added each night until, on the last night of Hanukkah, eight candles (plus the one used to light them) glow. It’s a magical sight.

What to eat during Hanukkah

While the candles burn, children play games and we feast on a range of treats. Much of the food eaten during Hanukkah is fried in oil which is so central to the story. We also eat dairy-based foods. Here are a few favourites.

Doughnuts

Everyone celebrating Hanukkah will eat at least one, and probably several more doughnuts over the eight days. Custard doughnuts or jam-filled doughnuts top the bill for favourites, but any filling goes — from chocolate to pumpkin butter and more Middle Eastern-influenced flavours such as honey-scented tahina.

Potato latkes

These gorgeous, grated potato-based cakes (similar to rösti) are another Hanukkah staple. My classic potato latkes are crisp, crunchy and delicious with soured cream and a dollop of apple sauce, although you can top them with whatever you like. Try smoked salmon and a soft poached egg or tender salt beef with pickled cucumber to cut through the oil.

Twists on the tradition latke include adding herbs and spices like my za’atar and herb-packed recipe on BBCGoodFood.com or using other starchy vegetables such as parsnips, sweet potatoes and even beetroot for a folate-filled fry-up. Top tip: the key to keeping the latkes crisp is to squeeze out as much liquid as possible before cooking.

Rugelach

These melt-in-the-mouth pastries (pronounced rog-ell-lah) are made using a light and flaky cream cheese-based dough and formed into a crescent shape — like mini croissants. My favourite (which reminds me of my grandma’s perfect pastries) has to be the traditional filling of cinnamon, chopped nuts and raisins, like my cinnamon, raisin and walnut recipe on BBCGoodFood.com, but they’re also delicious stuffed with chocolate or jam. Or try my raspberry and white chocolate rugelach.

These rugelach from John Gregory-Smith are inspired by the original but swap the traditional dough for puff pastry to achieve the sexy swirls of pastry filled with pistachio cream and dark chocolate filling.

Rugelach is a Hannukah treat thanks to the cream cheese in the pastry. Dairy foods are traditional because of the legend of Judith, a beautiful Jewish girl who beheaded Assyrian general, Holofernes. She was able to do that after having fed him salty cheese, which had made him thirsty enough to drink a lot of wine and fall asleep. With the general dead, the Israelis rallied, attacked and overcame the Assyrian armies who then fled.

International flavour

Jewish communities around the world have their own individual food customs for the festival of Hanukkah. In Israel, doughnuts are hugely popular and are called sufganyot. They’re stuffed with all sorts of unusual fillings like halva, tahini and honey, sticky melting marshmallow and gooey chocolate.

Italian Jews celebrate with fried chicken but also prepare precipizi – tiny balls of dough, deep-fried and coated in warm honey. In Spain and Portugal, the Hanukkah speciality is bimuelos — yeasted fritters flavoured with cardamom and cinnamon, and drizzled with orange flower honey. Find a recipe for these on The Jewish Chronicle.

Chocolate coins

Children are given small presents on each day of the festival of Hanukkah, including chocolate coins, which they can then use to play a game called dreidel. A dreidel is a spinning top with four letters on. The letter you land on dictates whether you put a coin in, take half the pile of coins, take all the coins or just do nothing.