by Petalm

Created on: November 30, 2010

The reason people – Jews – eat jelly/jam doughnuts (donuts) on Hanukkah has very little to do with the jelly and the doughnut, in fact the reason people eat jelly doughnuts on Hanukkah is because the doughnuts are fried in oil. The oil and it's role in the story of Hanukkah, is what makes jelly doughnuts one of the traditional foods of Hanukkah.

Eating jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah because of the oil

Oil is one of the Hanukkah symbols because of the role oil played in the Hanukkah story. In 168 B.C. the Greeks ruled Palestine and the Greek Emperor Antiochus ordered the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to be used for worshiping the Greek Gods, the Jewish Temple was taken over and desecrated. The Jewish religion was also outlawed in an effort to assimilate the Jews. An uprising ensued and the Jews were victorious and successfully reclaimed the Temple. Once the Temple was in Jewish hands they wished to rekindle the Temple Menorah which was a seven branched candelabra lit daily with sanctified pure olive oil. However they could only find one small jar of the sanctified oil which they thought would only last one day. The miracle of Hanukkah was that the small amount of oil kept the Menorah alit for eight days instead of one, until more sanctified oil could be produced. This is why oil is one of the Hanukkah symbols and why traditional Hanukkah foods, including jelly/jam doughnuts, are made with oil.

Eating jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah because of the jelly

The Sephardic Hanukkah jelly doughnuts began as two pieces of dough being stuck together like a sandwich with jam/jelly in the middle and then fried. Today the doughnuts are made as balls of dough and then jelly is injected into their middle. The sweet surprise of jelly in the middle of the doughnut is thought to symbolize the sweetness of God's blessings which he grants to those who stick fast to their beliefs as the Jews did in the original story of Hanukkah. Sweetness is associated with goodness and in another Jewish tradition young boys starting to learn the Torah are given honey to lick off of a page of writing, to make learning a sweet experience. The sweet jelly in the Hanukkah doughnuts could be meant in the same way to make the connection with religion a sweet one. Interestingly a similar Arabic tradition is called Hannaka, from the word Hech which meaning palate both in Arabic and Hebrew.

Eating jelly doughnuts at Hanukkah because of the shape?

 The round shape of the doughnut is also symbolic

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