WHOS LIGHTING HANUKKAH CANDLES?
For eight nights beginning at sundown on the 25th day of Kislev—in 2009, that falls on December 11—millions of people around the world celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. In observance of the Festival of Lights, they may kindle candles in a menorah, recite prayers, exchange Hanukkah gifts, spin a dreidel, or eat foods fried in oil, such as pancake-like potato latkes or jelly donuts called sufganiyot. In the United States, the odds that an adult who celebrates a winter holiday plans to celebrate Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) are 1 in 14.71 (or 7%). That’s actually greater than the proportion of Jewish people in the country. The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life reports that 1.7% of American adults identify themselves as Jewish. It’s not much compared to the 78% who belong to various Christian churches, but it’s enough to make Judaism the largest religious minority besides atheists, agnostics, and other unaffiliated groups. According to the National Jewish Population Survey
