Chanukah is a time of the year that People gather around the menorah and celebrate the 8-day holiday of Chanukah. Common activities include making potato pancakes, baking Jelly doughnuts, and playing with Chanukah gelt. While these activities are a lot of fun, they present a problem with Coronavirus.
Many of those activities involve making food, singing Chanukah songs together, and playing games that involve passing things to one another etc. These things can be dangerous when it comes to spreading disease and infection. For example – while playing Chanukah games, even if every player washes their hands very well before playing, if they touch their face (that might have respiratory droplets on it) and then they pass another person the dice – then that other person can get contaminated with infection.
That is why the Ministry of Health is trying to prevent people from getting together during Chanukah. There are talks of having a curfew around the country and maybe cancelling Chanukah vacation for kids. All of this is in the hopes of preventing a Coronavirus pandemic.
We recommend that you try to stay with your immediate family and not do so many activities with your friends and your extended family (in person).
Home activities for Chanukah
- Decorating your own doughnuts - Making doughnuts is a very common activity that many families do together! Many recipes can be found online. The activity is to decorate your own doughnut with chocolate, sprinkles, whipped cream, and other toppings. This is a very nice activity for your family to do together and afterwards you get something yummy!
- “Secret Santa” – Many families participate in a “secret santa” around Chanukah. This is a simple activity where each family member gets the name of another family member and they need to buy a present for that person. When Chanukah comes, everyone gathers around, and each person opens their gift, and they have to guess who bought it for them!
- Potato Pancake making – the family can get together and make potato pancakes together. Families can experiment with the ingredients for the pancakes. Maybe try zucchini or sweet potato instead of just potatoes. This is a fun activity that everyone can participate in and have fun!
Overall, we recommend that people stay with their immediate family and not interact too much with their extended family and friends. Try to stay home and make your holiday enjoyable and keep your family members safe from infections and disease.