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The story behind Dreidel is very interesting. When the Jews weren’t allowed to study Torah while under the ruling of Antiochus, they devised the game Dreidel. When the Greeks came around they could pretend to be playing the game instead of studying.

How to Play

Dreidel is a four-sided top with four Hebrew letters that determines what the player will do. For most Jews who celebrate Hanukkah this game is well known and played often. Here’s a way to make the game not only interesting for your smaller children who don’t quite understand but also can help you in teaching them about Dreidel and what it means.

It’s played on the same pretext as musical chairs. Set your smaller children in a circle on the floor. Give one child the Dreidel to start the game. Now play music just like you would in the game musical chairs. As the music plays have the children pass the Dreidel top from one to another. When the music stops whoever has the Dreidel is out of the game. Before they leave the game though they must tell one thing they know about the Dreidel game. The last person sitting in the circle is the winner.

By playing Dreidel with smaller children in this manner they feel like they are a part of the Hanukkah celebration. They are also learning about the Dreidel and why it is so important to the Jewish people and their celebration of life. Next year they will be able to play the game the correct way with everyone else and understand it’s importance.

Submitted by Christmas Fun

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