At the beginning of each November and December, Jewish people around the world gather to celebrate Hanukkah with friends and family for eight nights and eight days. This joyous holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah honors the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C., where according to the fable Jews had nauseated against their Greek Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Insurgency. The lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games, and gifts are the major activities of the celebration.
The festival is meant to celebrate the miracles that occurred over 2,000 years ago. The survival of Jews, and the power of even a small light to overcome darkness. The best way to test your knowledge about Hanukkah is to have some Hanukkah trivia.
Hanukkah trivia questions typically focus on various aspects of the Hanukkah holiday which is a significant celebration in the Jewish faith. Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Hanukkah trivia questions offer an engaging way to learn about and celebrate the rich cultural and religious traditions of the holiday.
Table of Contents
Hanukkah trivia
1. What does the word Hanukkah mean in Hebrew?
Answer: Dedication
2. What is the second name of the Hanukkah festival?
Answer: Festivals of lights
3. How many years ago a miracle occurred and become a festival that people celebrate with the name of Hanukkah?
Answer: 2,000 years ago
4. Which Hebrew letters stand for ‘A great miracle happened there’?
Answer: Dreidel’s
5. Children play games to win a pot of what?
Answer: Hanukkah Gelt
6. Who celebrates the Hanukkah festival?
Answer: Jewish
7. What is the first night of Hanukkah called?
Answer: Chanukah
8. What does the word Menorah mean in Hebrew?
Answer: The lamp having seven branches.
9. Who created the Menorah?
Answer: Ze’ev Raban
10. What are the colors used in Hanukkah celebrations?
Answer: Blue and White
Fun Hanukkah trivia
11. Where has the Largest Menorah situated in the World?
Answer: Grand Army Plaza in New York
12. Who was the first president to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House?
Answer: Harry Truman
13. How many jelly donuts are consumed in Israel throughout Hanukkah?
Answer: Over 17.5 million
14. The word “Hanukkah” comes from which Hebrew word?
Answer: “Hinch,” or “to teach.”
15. How many nights does Hanukkah lasts, to commemorate how long the holy light burned?
Answer: Eight nights
16. A Menorah is a candelabra with how many candles?
Answer: Nine candles
17. What is the candle in the center of the menorah called which is intended to light all the others and sits higher than the other candles?
Answer: Shamash
18. The famous dreidel, or four-sided spinning top, was invented as what?
Answer: Distraction
19. Which coins wrapped in gold foil, used in the traditional Jewish game of dreidel, and called gelt?
Answer: Chocolate coins
20. One of the most popular desserts is homemade doughnuts, what Jewish called it?
Answer: Sufganiyot
It is normal for women not to work for at least the first half-hour of the candles’ burning, and some have the tradition not to work for the entire time of burning. It is also prohibited to fast or glorify during Hanukkah.
Hanukkah family feud questions
21. Where the menorah prominently displays as a reminder to others of the miracle that inspired the holiday?
Answer: In the windows
22. Hanukkah is observed for how many nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar?
Answer: Eight
23. What does the Hebrew word latke mean which is used in the festival?
Answer: A type of potato pancake
24. In which books the story of Hanukkah is preserved?
Answer: In First and Second Maccabees
25. Which prayer is recited on Hanukkah as an addition to the Amidah prayer, which was formalized in the late 1st century?
Answer: The Al HaNissim prayer
26. Among whom the tendency is for every male member of the household to light a full set of lights each night?
Answer: Ashkenazim
27. When should Hanukkah lights usually burn at least?
Answer: Half an hour after it gets dark.
28. Typically, how many blessings are recited during this eight-day festival when lighting the candles?
Answer: Two
29. In the Ashkenazi tradition, each night after the lighting of the candles, which hymn is sung?
Answer: Ma’oz Tzur
30. What does the last day of Hanukkah know?
Answer: Zot Hanukkah
The biggest Hanukkiah in the world is usually thought to be in New York City near Central Park, which stands at 36 feet high, weighs two tons, and has been a New York fixture since 1977. Continue reading these 25 questions about Hanukkah Trivia.
25 questions about Hanukkah answered.
31. According to the Gregorian calendar on which date Hanukkah did start in 2018?
Answer: On the evening of December 2
32. In the present time how many arms should a menorah have?
Answer: Nine Arms
33. Which oil is considered the ideal fuel in place of candles as that is likely the oil used in the original miracle?
Answer: Olive Oil
34. What is the reason for using blue and white colors on Hanukkah?
35. Why does the Hanukkah festival have not any fixed date as it always changes?
Answer: There are so many spellings.
36. For the festival of lights, must it be candles?
Answer: No
37. Why should there have fried food at the Hanukkah festival?
Answer: Because the miracle happened by oil.
38. What should you have to do if you cross the international dateline?
Answer: The agent fires a Chanukkiah at their home.
39. In which biblical book the menorah is first mentioned?
Answer: In the biblical book of Exodus
40. How tall is the world’s largest menorah?
Answer: It stands at 32 feet.
41. Who made the world’s largest menorah?
Answer: Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.
42. How long does Hanukkah last?
Answer: Eight days and nights
43. Chanukah is also commonly known as the festival of what?
Answer: Festival of Lights
44. How many sons of Matisyahu fought the Greeks?
Answer: Five sons
45. Which Greek king, known for almost conquering Egypt, oppressed Jews, leading them to revolt and start the history of this holiday?
Answer: Antiochus IV
Hanukkah Trivia Questions
46. How many players are required to play a game of Dreidel?
Answer: At least two
47. A common song about Hanukkah’s favorite toy, the dreidel, is: “I have a little dreidel, I made it out of ______” Which term ends the phrase?
Answer: Clay
48. Which president established the tradition of a White House Hanukkah party?
Answer: George W. Bush
49. What is a good way to meet someone in Hanukkah?
Answer: Happy Hanukkah, “Chag Sameach”
50. The tradition of lighting a candle each night of Hanukkah is described in which Testament of the Bible?
Answer: Old Testament
51. In 1993, which astronaut once celebrated Hanukkah in space?
Answer: Jeff Hoffman
52. Where is the National Menorah lit every year?
Answer: In Washington D.C.
53. How much weight does the world’s biggest menorah have?
Answer: 4000 pounds
54. When Hanukkah began and ended in the year 2020?
Answer: Ten to Eighteen December
55. Fried potato pancakes are eaten in Hanukkah. What are these pancakes called in Hebrew?
Answer: Latkes
For Jews all around the world fried foods are a very traditional part of Hanukkah, and the reason for more fried foods is to recognize the miracle of the oil. “There are those who say that eating on Hanukkah cheese because of the miracle was made by milk Judith was feeding the enemy” written by the 16th-century Rabbi Moses Isserles. Now we will try some Hanukkah trivia true or false questions.
Hanukkah true or false
56. Hanukkah means “light” in English.
Answer: False
57. Hanukkah is not considered one of the major Jewish religious holidays.
Answer: True
58. Currently, menorahs have holders for nine candles, but in ancient times, they held seven candles.
Answer: True
59. The tradition of lighting a candle each night of Hanukkah is described in the New Testament of the Bible.
Answer: False
60. Hanukkah is sometimes referred to as the “festival of darkest winter.”
Answer: False
61. George W. Bush was the president who established the tradition of a White House Hanukkah party.
Answer: True
62. Gelt, or money, is a traditional Hanukkah gift.
Answer: True
63. Blue and white are the colors of the Hanukkah festival.
Answer: True
64. Hanukkah begins on a day in November or December at sunrise.
Answer: True
65. Menorahs are usually placed on shelves where they can be seen easily from inside or outside.
Answer: False
The African American culture’s annual celebration is known as Kwanzaa. This festival is held from December 26 to January 1, wrapping up in a communal feast called Karamu, commonly held on the 6th day. Maulana Karenga has created it, and it is based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of Africa, West and Southeast Africa. In 1966 Kwanzaa was first celebrated. Let us see some more information about the Kwanzaa festival.
Kwanzaa trivia questions
66. American Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of which event?
Answer: The Watts riots
67. Kwanzaa is the word of which language?
Answer: Swahili
68. The name Kwanzaa derives from the phrase matunda ya kwanza, what does it mean in English?
Answer: It means “first fruits”.
69. Kwanzaa celebrates the seven principles of Kwanzaa and each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the principles, in which year these principles formed?
Answer: In 1965
70. Who has narrated a documentary film about Kwanzaa, The Black Candle?
Answer: Maya Angelou
71. Who designed the first Kwanzaa stamp, and was issued by the United States Post Office in 1997?
Answer: Designed by Synthia Saint James
72. What do the Seven candles in a kinara symbolize?
Answer: The seven principles of Kwanzaa
73. What is the first principle of Kwanzaa?
Answer: Unity
74. What is the candle holder used in the Kwanzaa celebration in Swahili?
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