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How do you spell Hanukkah?

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It's a beautiful holiday joyfully celebrated in many countries of the world. The Festival of Lights is also a very fun and delicious holiday! The food is amazing, why not? It's fried! Fried potato pancakes, latkes, fried donuts, and anything else you want to fry. But there is a substantial problem that is associated with this holiday - how do you spell it? Hanukkah, Chanukah, Hannukah, Channukkah! The list goes on, it's endless ways to construct this one word leaves many puzzled.

What is the reason for this puzzlement? Transliteration. The word is from Hebrew which is a challenging language to speak, let along to spell into English letters.  Unlike translation, transliteration is when you “change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.” In Hebrew, the language from which the Jewish festival originates, the word for Hanukkah is not easily transliterated into English. This accounts for why there are so many spelling variants. But Hanukkah and Chanukah are the two versions that are most widely used and accepted.

Hanukkah lasts for eight days. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Scholars disagree about how to interpret the Hebrew word for Hanukkah. But one common interpretation is that it means “dedication.”

However you spell it, may your holiday be festive with HIs light.

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