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40 Hanukkah trivia questions

Hanukkah questions with answers and source links. Play them on the screen, or print a player sheet and the answer key. At five a night, they last all eight nights.

40 questions · Hanukkah trivia questions · answers included

Hanukkah trivia questions

Choose a score button to add a point. Scores last for this page visit.

Space shows the answer, then the next card. Arrow keys move. With scores on, keys 1 to 6 add a team point. F fills the screen. Escape closes play.
  1. 1

    On which day of the Hebrew month of Kislev does Hanukkah begin?

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    Answer

    The 25th, at sunset.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  2. 2

    How long does Hanukkah last?

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    Answer

    Eight nights and days.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  3. 3

    Hanukkah begins in Kislev. In which Hebrew month does it end?

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    Answer

    Tevet, the month after.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  4. 4

    Not counting the helper candle, how many candles burn on the last night of Hanukkah?

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    Answer

    Eight, all of them.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  5. 5

    What does the Hebrew word Hanukkah mean?

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    Answer

    Dedication, of the Temple in Jerusalem.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  6. 6

    Which rebels recovered Jerusalem and the Second Temple in the story of Hanukkah?

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    Answer

    The Maccabees, led by Judah.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  7. 7

    Against which empire did the Maccabees revolt?

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    Answer

    The Seleucid Empire, under Antiochus IV.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  8. 8

    Which Jewish priest and father of five sons began the revolt?

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    Answer

    Mattathias, Judah's father.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  9. 9

    Judah's nickname meant "the Hammer". What was it?

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    Answer

    Maccabee, as in Judah Maccabee.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  10. 10

    In which year BCE was the Temple liberated and rededicated?

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    Answer

    164 BCE, after the revolt.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  11. 11

    In the story of the miracle, the pure oil found in the Temple was enough for how long?

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    Answer

    One day, yet it lasted eight.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  12. 12

    Which book first tells the miracle of the oil?

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    Answer

    The Talmud, centuries after the revolt.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  13. 13

    What do the fried foods of Hanukkah commemorate?

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    Answer

    The importance of oil, from the miracle.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  14. 14

    What are latkes?

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    Answer

    Potato pancakes, fried in oil.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  15. 15

    What are sufganiyot?

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    Answer

    Jelly doughnuts, deep-fried.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  16. 16

    Which Hanukkah tradition gives money to children?

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    Answer

    Hanukkah gelt, Yiddish for Hanukkah money.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  17. 17

    In the Ashkenazi tradition, which hymn is sung after the candles are lit each night?

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    Answer

    Ma'oz Tzur, Rock of Ages.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  18. 18

    Where are Hanukkah lights traditionally set up, so passers-by see them?

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    Answer

    A prominent window, or near the door to the street.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  19. 19

    On the first night, on which side of the menorah is the light placed?

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    Answer

    The right side, then one more to its left each night.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  20. 20

    What do some call the last day of Hanukkah?

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    Answer

    Zot Hanukkah, from the verse read that day.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  21. 21

    How many Jewish Sabbaths does Hanukkah include?

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    Answer

    At least one, and sometimes two.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  22. 22

    Which set of Psalms of praise is recited on all eight days of Hanukkah?

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    Answer

    Hallel, psalms of praise.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  23. 23

    Which ancient historian wrote that the festival was called Lights?

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    Answer

    Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  24. 24

    Which sage taught to start with one candle and add one more each night?

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    Answer

    Hillel, against Shammai.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  25. 25

    Shammai taught lighting how many candles on the first night?

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    Answer

    Eight, then one fewer each night.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  26. 26

    In 167 BCE, which king ordered an altar to Zeus in the Temple?

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    Answer

    Antiochus, the Seleucid king Antiochus IV.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  27. 27

    Which cheese pancakes do Italian and Hungarian Jews eat at Hanukkah?

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    Answer

    Cassola, or cheese latkes.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  28. 28

    What is the traditional filling of sufganiyot?

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    Answer

    Strawberry jelly, though bakeries now offer many more.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  29. 29

    In Israel, which Hanukkah food has largely replaced latkes?

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    Answer

    Sufganiyot, the jelly doughnuts.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  30. 30

    Hanukkah gelt grew from an old custom of children giving a small sum to whom?

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    Answer

    Their teachers, as thanks.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  31. 31

    On which night of Hanukkah does one custom give gelt?

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    Answer

    The fifth night, by one custom.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755

  32. 32

    How many branches does a Hanukkah menorah have?

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    Answer

    Nine, eight for the nights and one for the helper.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_menorah?oldid=1373935427

  33. 33

    What is the helper candle that lights the others called?

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    Answer

    The shamash, meaning helper or servant.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_menorah?oldid=1373935427

  34. 34

    Which president began the yearly White House Hanukkah Party, in 2001?

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    Answer

    George W. Bush, in 2001.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_menorah?oldid=1373935427

  35. 35

    How many sides does a dreidel have?

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    Answer

    Four, each with a Hebrew letter.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

  36. 36

    In the dreidel game, what does a player win when gimel lands face up?

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    Answer

    Everything, the whole pot.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

  37. 37

    And when hei lands face up?

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    Answer

    Half, of the pieces in the pot.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

  38. 38

    What phrase do the four letters on a dreidel stand for?

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    Answer

    A great miracle happened there, nes gadol haya sham.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

  39. 39

    What is a dreidel called in modern Hebrew?

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    Answer

    Sevivon, from a root meaning to turn.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

  40. 40

    On dreidels made in Israel, which letter usually replaces shin, so the phrase says "here"?

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    Answer

    Pe.

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel?oldid=1379805141

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