Dreidel

Another Hanukkah tradition is the dreidel game. The dreidel is a small top with four sides (made out of clay, as the song goes). The sides of the dreidel are labeled with the Hebrew letters נ ג ה ש, which are an acronym for the phrase 'A great miracle happened there' - referring to the miraculous burning lamp when the Temple was rededicated. The game associated with the top involves each player having some small playing pieces - pennies, buttons, M&M's, etc. You spin the top, and whichever side it lands on leads you to either add or remove pieces from the central pot.

Luke Chapman made this wonderful Dreidel, that actually incorporates the script in LEGO form.




This version is made of Mebablox, but since they built in the script I had to include it.


Another from Jack S.


Januson made this with the text in english to facilitate game play.


SaraMitts365's LEGO self is playing the dreidel game along with a dragon(?).


As are some of Santa's elves*


*This was a detail in a wonderful Advent calendar window display at 'Out of This World' a shop in Mendocino. For the first night of Hanukkah, they had this little scene. Who knew Santa's elves were Jewish? :) Probably of no relevance to anyone but me and my wife, Mendocino is where we got married - it's a beautiful place a little ways north of San Francisco. If you've seen Murder She Wrote, the town where Jessica Fletcher lives in Maine was actually filmed there. Looking at that shop, I'm quite certain we bought some gifts there. Unfortunately this wonderful LEGO display wasn't up at the time.