What does a dreidel — a four-sided spinning top — have to do with Hanukkah?
The Syrian Greeks wouldn’t allow the Jews to practice their religion — they couldn’t even learn Hebrew, says Rabbi Vered Harris of Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kan. So, according to folk tradition, parents painted the Hebrew letters on dreidels. When the henchmen came by, they thought everyone was just playing a silly game. Today the dreidel is a symbol of Hanukkah; its Hebrew letters stand for the phrase, “A great miracle happened there.” * Why is Christmas sometimes written as “Xmas”? And is it just a disrespectful advertising practice that takes Christ out of Christmas? Advertisers prefer “Xmas” because it’s short. And its four letters do fit nicely with the word “sale.” But Xmas is more than just a 20th-century marketing term. The Greek word for Christ is Xristos, and, according to the book “Did You Ever Wonder” by Jeff Rovin, the use of “Xmas” became widespread in Europe as far back as the 1500s. X is the Greek letter “chi,” the equivalent of “Ch.” Therefore, Xristos
