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126 free Hanukkah trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free Hanukkah trivia questions with answers. How well do you know the Festival of Lights? From the Maccabean revolt to Adam Sandler's Chanukah Song, this quiz covers the history, traditions, foods, prayers, and pop culture of Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah or Hannukah). Light the hanukkiah, spin the dreidel, and test your knowledge across 126 questions spanning ancient miracles to modern celebrations.
30 of 126 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday to begin in one Hebrew month and end in another. Which two?
Kislev and Tevet
It starts on the 25th of Kislev, and because Kislev can have 29 or 30 days, the holiday sometimes ends on the 2nd of Tevet and sometimes the 3rd.
Q 02How many branches does a Hanukkah lamp have?
9
Eight hold the lights for the eight nights; the ninth holds the helper light, which must sit higher or lower than the rest.
Q 03What food, fried in oil, is a traditional Hanukkah dish made from potatoes?
Latkes
They are an Ashkenazi staple; in Israel they have largely been displaced by jam-filled doughnuts, partly through the influence of the trade unions.
Q 04Besides lighting the candles, the one traditional Hanukkah obligation is reciting which set of psalms in full?
Hallel
Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, is recited in full on each of the eight days of Hanukkah, the complete version rather than the shortened 'half Hallel' used on some other days.
Q 05What does the word Hanukkah mean in Hebrew?
Dedication
Hanukkah means 'dedication', recalling the rededication of the Temple altar in 164 BCE; a homiletic reading splits the word into 'they rested on the twenty-fifth' of Kislev.
Q 06What type of currency-shaped chocolate is given to children during Hanukkah?
Gelt
The word means money, and the chocolate version was a 20th-century American confectioners' spin on an older custom of giving children real coins.
Q 07Which Jewish military leader led the revolt that Hanukkah celebrates?
Judah Maccabee
Judah Maccabee took over the revolt from his father Mattathias around 166 BCE, retook Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple in 164 BCE, and died in battle against the Seleucids in 160 BCE.
Q 08In the rabbinic account of Hanukkah, the single cruse of undefiled oil the Maccabees found still bore whose unbroken seal?
The high priest's
The high priest's seal, that of the kohen gadol, marked the oil as undefiled; the story was written down about 600 years later and appears in neither Book of Maccabees.
Q 09Which comedian is famous for performing The Chanukah Song?
Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler first performed The Chanukah Song on Saturday Night Live in 1994. The song lists famous Jewish celebrities and became a Hanukkah pop culture staple.
Q 10On which evening of the festival are all the candles on the lamp lit together?
The eighth
One light is added each evening, so the final night is the only one on which the whole row burns together with the helper light.
Q 11What are the four Hebrew letters on a dreidel?
Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin
The diaspora dreidel carries Nun, Gimel, Hei and Shin, the initials of a four-word Hebrew phrase; in the game each letter doubles as a Yiddish mnemonic telling the spinner what to do.
Q 12What jelly-filled pastry is a traditional Hanukkah treat in Israel?
Sufganiyot
Sufganiyot are the jam-filled doughnuts Polish immigrants brought to Israel as the ponchik; the Hebrew name comes from sfog, 'sponge', for the dough's texture, and bakeries now fill them with everything from caramel to cappuccino cream.
Q 13What is the helper candle on a hanukkiah called?
Shamash
Q 21On which TV show did Seth Cohen popularize the concept of 'Chrismukkah'?
The O.C.
Seth Cohen coined Chrismukkah on The O.C. in 'The Best Chrismukkah Ever', which aired on December 3, 2003, during the show's first season.
Q 22Which hymn is recited immediately after the Hanukkah lights have been kindled?
Hanerot Halalu
Hanerot Halalu, 'these lights', is recited right after kindling; it declares the lights sacred, to be looked at and not used for any practical purpose, which is why the helper light exists.
Q 23What family name did the Maccabees belong to?
Hasmonean
The Maccabees were Hasmoneans; the Hasmonean dynasty they founded ruled Judea from 140 BCE until Herod's takeover in 37 BCE, and was fully independent of the Seleucids from about 110 BCE until Rome intervened in 63 BCE.
The shamash, Hebrew for 'attendant' or 'servant', stands apart from the other eight lights and is the one used to kindle them each night.
Q 14Which Seleucid king outlawed Jewish practices and desecrated the Temple, sparking the Maccabean revolt?
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes turned the Jerusalem sanctuary over to a syncretic pagan cult in 167 BCE, and was the first Seleucid king to put divine epithets on his coins.
Q 15In which direction are candles placed in the hanukkiah each night?
Right to left
Candles are placed in the hanukkiah from right to left (adding a new candle to the left each night), but they are lit from left to right, so the newest candle is always lit first.
Q 16What does the Hebrew phrase 'Nes Gadol Haya Sham' mean?
A great miracle happened there
The phrase 'Nes Gadol Haya Sham' means 'A great miracle happened there,' referring to the miracle of the oil in the Temple. The first letters of each word appear on the dreidel.
Q 17Which traditional Hanukkah hymn's title translates to 'Rock of Ages'?
Ma'oz Tzur
Ma'oz Tzur (Rock of Ages) is a Jewish liturgical hymn sung after lighting the Hanukkah candles. Written in the 13th century, it recounts God's deliverance of the Jewish people throughout history.
Q 18Which special passage is inserted into the Amidah and Grace After Meals during Hanukkah?
Al HaNissim
Al HaNissim ('For the Miracles') is a special addition to daily prayers and Grace After Meals during Hanukkah, thanking God for the miraculous deliverance of the Maccabees.
Q 19The Maccabean revolt against the Seleucids took place in which of these periods?
100s BCE
The main phase of the revolt ran from 167 to 160 BCE, but fighting with the Seleucids and Hellenized Jews dragged on until 134 BCE.
Q 20What is the Hebrew word for the dreidel spinning top?
Sevivon
In Hebrew, the dreidel is called a sevivon (from the root meaning 'to turn'). The word 'dreidel' comes from the Yiddish word 'dreyen,' also meaning 'to turn.'
Q 24In Israel, how is the last letter on the dreidel different from the Diaspora version?
Shin is replaced with Pei
In Israel the Shin is replaced with Pei, changing the dreidel's last word from 'there' to 'here'; some Haredi communities keep the Shin, reading 'there' as the Temple site.
Q 25Which U.S. president hosted the first official White House Hanukkah party?
George W. Bush
George W. Bush hosted the first official White House Hanukkah party in 2001; at his 2008 reception the menorah David Ben-Gurion had given Harry Truman in 1951 was lit by grandsons of both men.
Q 26What does the name 'Maccabee' most likely mean?
The Hammer
The Aramaic maqqaba is the likeliest root, a parallel to the Frankish leader Charles 'Martel', whose cognomen also means hammer.
Q 27What is the traditional game played with a dreidel for stakes?
Betting on which letter lands up
Each player antes into a pot and spins: gimel takes everything, hei takes half, nun takes nothing and shin means put one in.
Q 28Why are foods fried in oil eaten during the holiday?
To recall the miracle of the Temple oil
Fried foods recall the miracle of the Temple oil that burned far longer than its supply allowed; olive oil is preferred, and Sephardic families add fritters to potato pancakes and doughnuts.
Q 29Some eat dairy on Hanukkah to remember which heroine, who fed a general cheese and wine before beheading him?
Judith
Judith's book is not in the Tanakh but survives in the deuterocanon; she fed the Assyrian general Holofernes, who was besieging Bethulia, salty cheese and wine, then beheaded him in his tent.
Q 30The custom of giving children Hanukkah money is traced to which time and place?
17th-century Poland
The custom is traced to 17th-century Poland, where children passed the coins on to their teachers; poor yeshiva students also went door to door collecting 'Chanukah money' from benefactors.