The letters on the dreidel (Nun, Gimel, Hay, Shin) each stand for a word in Hebrew, writing out "Nes gadol hayah sham," or "A great miracle happened there." In Israel, the final letter (Shin) is replaced with a Pei, and the last word becomes "Po," translating as "A great miracle happened here." The miracle in question, of course, is that the oil in the Temple Menorah lasted for 8 days instead of 1, after the victory of the Maccabee army against the Seleucid king Antiochus.
The spinning top played with during Hanukkah is called a dreidel - דריידל in Yiddish and a Sevivon - סביבון - in Hebrew.
The Dreidel game.
It is a four-sided top, used in a Hanukkah game.
There is no such thing as "Hanukkah Day". Hanukkah lasts for 8 days and 8 nights. During Hanukkah parties, held throughout the festival, all types of party games are played. The only traditional game is the dreidel game, which is a gambling game that uses a 4-sided top.
a dreidel
The menorah and the dreidel.
a dreidel
It is a 4-sided top called a dreidel
The Dreidel game
Modern celebrations of Hanukkah can include almost any kind of game, but the Dreidel game is the only traditional game.
Dreidel Latkes Gelt Chanukiah Shamash
the dreidel game