Hanukkah Prayers 2017: Blessings To Say During The Jewish Festival Of Lights

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, will commence at sundown Tuesday, Dec. 12, and end with nightfall Wednesday, Dec. 20. For all eight days of the holiday, the Jewish people light candelabras, called hanukias.

Here are the prayers to say during Hanukkah:

Blessing One:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Blessing Two: The second blessing asks Jews to remember the miracles performed by their ancestors.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, at this season.

Blessing Three: The third blessing should also be uttered when the Hanukkah menorah is first lit each year.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive, and has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this time.

Hebrew versions of these prayers and recordings are available at Chabad.org and JewFAQ.org.

When greeting people, wish them a Happy Hanukkah by saying “Hanukkah Sameach,” or the more general term that can be used, “Chag Sameach.”

Below are some famous quotes to celebrate Hanukkah, courtesy FamousQuotes 123.

1. "Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart." — Hannah Senesh

2. "On Hanukkah, the first dark night, light yourself a candle bright. I'll you, if you will me invite, to dance within that gentle light."— Nicholas Gordon

3. "Chanuka is about the spark of the divine in all of us made in God's image." — Suzanne Field

4. "The darkness of the whole world cannot swallow the glowing of a candle." — Robert Altinger

5. "To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, every cubic inch of space is a miracle." — Walt Whitman

6. "The commandment to light the Hanukkah lamp is an exceedingly precious one, and one should be particularly careful to fulfill it. In order to make known the miracle, and to offer additional praise ... to God for the Wonders which He has wrought for us." — Maimonides

7. "The miracle, of course, was not that the oil for the sacred light — in a little cruse — lasted as long as they say; but that the courage of the Maccabees lasted to this day: let that nourish my flickering spirit." — Charles Reznikoff

8. "A candle is a small thing. But one candle can light another. And see how its own light increases, as a candle gives its flame to the other. You are such a light." — Moshe Davis

9. "As long as Hanukkah is studied and remembered, Jews will not surrender to the night. The proper response, as Hanukkah teaches, is not to curse the darkness but to light a candle." — Irving Greenberg

10. "Just as Hanukkah candles are lighted one by one from a single flame, so the tale of the miracle is passed from one man to another, from one house to another, and to the whole House of Israel throughout the generations." — Judah L. Magnes