Unlike other major Jewish holidays, Chanukkah doesn't have a whole lot of traditions associated with it, or many specific rituals for the holiday. Chanukkah is a holiday that celebrates two miracles - that the Maccabees, a small band of Jews, won the war against the Syrian Greeks, and that the small amount of oil that was found in the desecrated Temple lasted for eight days instead of one. Here's my list of things to do on Chanukkah.

1. See how many ways you can possibly spell Chanukkah in English while having the word still phonetically resemble what you are trying to say.

2. Light Chanukkah candles. Consider looking into getting an oil burning menorah instead of one with candles - closer to the original idea. Also, oil for burning comes in cool colors these days, so you don't give up the 'colored candle' look.

3. Google the words to those Chanukkah songs you learned as a child... and find out what the real words actually are!

4. Play spin the dreidel. The dreidel, as I learned, actually does have a connection to the holiday beyond the letters on it's sides, which stand for "A great miracle happened there." The Jews would be studying Torah during the time of Chanukkah when learning was outlawed. When the Greeks would barge in, they would quickly put away their books and pretend to be playing games - sometimes using spinning tops, hence the dreidel.

5. Send Chanukkah cards. Okay, okay, so it's a total invention of the greeting card companies. But still. It's nice to keep in touch with relatives and friends at any time of the year.

6. Make latkes as a family. Or just by yourself.

7. Have an excuse to eat donuts. Latkes has become a tradition because they are fried in oil, and they're yummy. Fried donuts often with jelly - called sufganiot in Hebrew - are also a favorite food of the holiday.

8. Many people have the tradition of not doing work, or just having some family time while the candles are lit - standard Chanukkah candles last about a half hour; the larger ones about an hour or longer. It's a great idea to just enjoy each other's company if you waiting for the placement of a child, or to spend time with your family there with you.

Happy Chanukkah to all!