Hanukkah or Chanukah? Test your knowledge with this quiz

 

The second night of Hanukkah.

The third of eight candles lit during Hanukkah will be illuminated at sundown today (Saturday, Dec. 9). In recognition of that, I offer my annual “Chanukah Charlie” quiz on the holiday.
The answers are listed at the end of this column: The link to the column, as it it appears on the website of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, where it was published in the Dec. 9-10 Weekend edition of the newspaper, follows: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-chanukah-charlie-wishes-you-a-happy-hanukkah/article_89c2a33f-3705-53f9-a95b-b512b3451232.html
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As he’s agreed to do for me over the last two-plus decades, Chanukah Charlie offers his annual multiple-choice quiz on the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, which started with the first candle being lit on Thursday, Dec. 7, ahead of the first day on Friday, Dec. 8, because all Jewish holidays start at sunset. The holiday will come to a close on Friday, Dec. 15 after the eighth candle is lit the evening before.
Charlie and this columnist wish everyone a very healthy and happy holiday season and new year, regardless of which holiday you celebrate.
The quiz was published in the Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 9-10 edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA. The link to the column on the newspaper’s website follows:
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1. Hanukkah is celebrated because:
A. Making latkes (potato pancakes) is an unwritten law.
B. Mr. Spock’s little-known famous quote is “Live long and shop.”
C. A victory in 164 BCE (Before the Common Era, which is how Judaism refers to 164 BC) by rebels over a bigger army preserved Judaism from extinction.
2. On Hanukkah, we light:
A. Hanukkah bushes.
B. A menorah.
C. A tree with eight branches.
3. Judah commanded the troops that beat the Syrian Greeks. They were called:
A. Defenders of the Faith.
B. Hanukkah Heroes.
C. Maccabees.
4. How long did it take the Maccabees to defeat the Syrian Greeks and re-enter the temple after their foe desecrated it?
A. Less time than the actors and writers were on strike.
B. Three years.
C. Longer than it takes Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to get intercepted.
5. The king of the Syrian Greeks was:
A. Antiochus III.
B. Antiochus I.
C. Antiochus IV.
6. Antiochus forbid the Jewish people from:
A. Eating kosher food and praying.
B. Teaching and practicing Judaism.
C. All of the above.
7. The miracle of Chanukah is that:
A. Kids and adults get to eat jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot
B. The temple was rededicated. (Chanukah means dedication.)
C. One day’s worth of oil kept the menorah lit eight days.
8. How do you put the candles in the menorah?
A. Right to left, and light them left to right so the oldest is put in first and the newest is lit first.
B. The reverse of A.
C. Flip a latke to decide.
9. What’s a dreidel?
A. A low-tech toy.
B. A spinning top with Hebrew letters.
C. A tool to make doughnuts.
10. The dreidel game is played:
A. Whenever you want.
B. On the floor.
C. After dinner.
11. The winner gets the pot (pennies, candy or poker chips) if the dreidel:
A. Lands on the Hebrew letter “shin.”
B. Lands on “hay.”
C. Lands on “gimel.”
12. Which English spelling is acceptable?
A. A. H—a—n—u—k—k—a—h.
B. C—h—a—n—u—k—a—h.
C. H—a—n—u—k—a—h.
BONUS, TRUE OR FALSE: Hanukkah falls on the same day every year.
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The Answers
The Chanukah Charlie quiz answers follow:
1. C.
2. B.
3. C.
4. B.
5. C.
6. C.
7. C, but all three are blessings.
8. A.
9. B.
10. Bet on all three.
11. C.
12. All three, because the English is transliterated from the Hebrew. A is the most commonly used spelling.
BONUS ANSWER: True; it starts on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev.
But Hanukkah changes yearly in relation to the common calendar because the Hebrew calendar is a lunar one that loses time, forcing a leap month to be added every few years. Next year, a leap year in the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah will occur Dec. 26-Jan. 2, 2025, with the first candle lit on Christmas night.
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Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com