What are good Hanukkah trivia questions?

Good Hanukkah trivia questions mix the story with the traditions: what Judah Maccabee's nickname means (the Hammer), which candle is lit first each night (the newest), what a gimel wins in dreidel (the whole pot) and who first sang “The Chanukah Song” (Adam Sandler). This page has 40 of them in four rounds of 10, with answers.

What are the dates of Hanukkah 2026?

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12, according to Hebcal. It starts on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, so its date on the regular calendar moves every year.

How do you play Hanukkah trivia at work?

Split into teams of four to six, read one round of 10 (about 10 minutes), let teams write their answers, then read the answers and the short notes. On a video call, screen-share the quiz on this page and collect answers by chat or in breakout rooms.

Is Hanukkah trivia OK for a team where most people don't celebrate?

Yes, when it's a chance to learn: the questions cover history, customs, food and pop culture, never anyone's beliefs. Invite colleagues who celebrate to add a story if they want to, never put them on the spot, and avoid Friday evening, when Hanukkah overlaps with Shabbat.

Can someone host a trivia game for our December event?

Yes. Winter Fun & Games is a live-hosted hour of board games, party games and trivia, on Zoom by default or Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request. It's a winter theme that suits everyone rather than a Hanukkah program; ask about adding your own round when you request a quote (custom content needs about 4 weeks). Hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead.

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40 Hanukkah trivia questions and answers

Forty Hanukkah trivia questions with answers, in four rounds of 10: the story, the lights, food and dreidel, and pop culture. A round takes about 10 minutes, and nobody needs to celebrate to play.

KraftyLab TeamUpdated Nov 20269 min read

See all 40 questions or have a host run it

The storyQuestion 1 of 10 · Score 0

Which king's ban on Jewish practice set off the revolt that Hanukkah remembers?

Say your answer out loud, or write it down, then check it.

Coworkers laughing over a trivia answer in an office break room, with a lit menorah, chocolate coins and jelly doughnuts on the counter

Hanukkah is the eight-night Jewish Festival of Lights. In 2026 it begins at sundown on Friday, December 4, and ends at nightfall on Saturday, December 12 (dates from Hebcal). It remembers the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabean revolt in the 2nd century BCE. These 40 questions are written for a mixed team at work: every one has a difficulty tag and its answer folded away, so a host can share the screen without spoilers.

For the basics (how many nights, what latkes are made of) plus food, games and party ideas, see our Hanukkah activities for work.

Round 1: the Hanukkah story

The history behind the eight nights, from a banned faith to a rededicated Temple.

1. Which king's ban on Jewish practice set off the revolt that Hanukkah remembers?Medium
Show the answer
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (a Seleucid king, in 167 BCE)
2. Antiochus IV ruled which empire, one of the kingdoms that followed Alexander the Great?Hard
Show the answer
The Seleucid Empire
3. Which priest started the revolt together with his five sons?Hard
Show the answer
Mattathias
4. Judah Maccabee's nickname is usually translated as what?Medium
Show the answer
Judah the Hammer
5. In which century BCE did the Maccabean revolt take place?Medium
Show the answer
The 2nd century BCE
6. By the usual dating, in what year BCE was the Temple rededicated?Hard
Show the answer
164 BCE
7. The family that ruled Judea after the revolt gave its name to which dynasty?Hard
Show the answer
The Hasmonean dynasty (it lasted until Rome took Jerusalem in 63 BCE)
8. The Books of Maccabees are part of the Old Testament for which two Christian churches?Hard
Show the answer
Catholic and Orthodox (they are not in the Hebrew Bible)
9. The story of one day's oil lasting eight days is told in which Jewish text?Medium
Show the answer
The Talmud (tractate Shabbat 21b)
10. According to 2 Maccabees, the first eight-day celebration was held like which other festival?Hard
Show the answer
Sukkot (the Feast of Booths, which the fighters had missed)

Have a host run your December game

Reading trivia yourself works for eight people at lunch. For 25 or more, or a team split between the office and video, a live host keeps the rounds moving, keeps score and lets the organizer play too. These winter picks suit everyone on the team, whatever they celebrate.

Hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead. Kit workshops need about 3 weeks for US addresses, or 5 with guests in Canada or abroad. Reserve on any activity page with a 50% deposit, or ask for a full plan within 24 hours.

Get a free quote

Round 2: the menorah and the lights

Candles, windows, songs and an old argument about which way to count.

11. One ancient school lit eight lights on the first night and counted down. Whose add-one-a-night practice won out?Medium
Show the answer
The House of Hillel (the House of Shammai counted down)
12. Candles go into the menorah from right to left. Which one is lit first each night?Medium
Show the answer
The newest candle (the one added that night, on the far left)
13. Why do many families set the menorah in a window that faces the street?Easy
Show the answer
To share the miracle with passersby
14. By tradition, how long should the Hanukkah lights keep burning after dark?Medium
Show the answer
At least half an hour
15. On the Friday of Hanukkah, which candles are lit first: Hanukkah or Shabbat?Medium
Show the answer
The Hanukkah candles (lighting stops once Shabbat begins)
16. What Hebrew name is often used for the nine-branched Hanukkah lamp?Easy
Show the answer
Hanukkiah
17. How many branches did the menorah in the ancient Temple have?Medium
Show the answer
Seven
18. Hanukkah starts in one Hebrew month and ends in the next. Which two?Hard
Show the answer
Kislev and Tevet
19. In which century was the hymn Ma'oz Tzur, often sung after the candles, written?Hard
Show the answer
The 13th century
20. Most Ashkenazi families light the helper candle first. When do many Sephardic families light it?Hard
Show the answer
Last

Want a hands-on hour with a warm glow? In a hosted candle making workshop, every guest pours a scented candle at home with a live host. It's a winter craft rather than a Hanukkah ritual, so the whole team can join in.

A remote worker on a team video call at her home desk, with wooden dreidels and a mug of tea beside her laptop

Round 3: food, gelt and dreidel

Fried food, dairy, chocolate coins and the rules of the spinning top.

21. In Israel, which fried Hanukkah treat is far more popular than latkes?Easy
Show the answer
Sufganiyot (jam-filled doughnuts)
22. Italian and Hungarian Jewish families traditionally fry pancakes made with what instead of potato?Hard
Show the answer
Cheese
23. Some families eat dairy foods at Hanukkah to honor which heroine?Hard
Show the answer
Judith (who, the story says, served cheese to an enemy general)
24. Which two toppings do families argue over for their latkes every year?Easy
Show the answer
Applesauce or sour cream
25. The word dreidel comes from a Yiddish verb that means what?Medium
Show the answer
To turn
26. In the dreidel game, which letter lets you take the whole pot?Easy
Show the answer
Gimel
27. Spin a hei in dreidel and how much of the pot do you take?Easy
Show the answer
Half
28. Spin a shin in dreidel and what do you have to do?Easy
Show the answer
Put one piece in the pot
29. Some families give Hanukkah gelt on the fifth night. Why that night?Hard
Show the answer
It never falls on Shabbat
30. Which NASA astronaut spun a dreidel aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1993?Hard
Show the answer
Jeffrey Hoffman (on the mission that repaired the Hubble telescope)

Remote team that can't share a plate of doughnuts? A hot chocolate bomb workshop ships the chocolate and marshmallows to every guest, and a host walks everyone through it on video.

Round 4: Hanukkah in America and pop culture

Songs, TV specials, stamps, debates and a menorah near the White House.

31. Which comedian first sang “The Chanukah Song” on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update in 1994?Easy
Show the answer
Adam Sandler
32. Which 2002 animated Adam Sandler film is set during Hanukkah?Medium
Show the answer
Eight Crazy Nights
33. In 2013 the first full day of Hanukkah landed on Thanksgiving. What did people call the overlap?Easy
Show the answer
Thanksgivukkah
34. Which teen drama gave us “Chrismukkah” in a 2003 episode?Medium
Show the answer
The O.C. (Seth Cohen's mix of his parents' traditions)
35. Which cartoon's 1996 holiday special, “A Rugrats Chanukah,” starred a group of babies?Easy
Show the answer
Rugrats
36. In what year did the US Postal Service issue its first Hanukkah stamp?Hard
Show the answer
1996 (a joint issue with Israel)
37. Which US president took part in the first lighting of the National Menorah in 1979?Medium
Show the answer
Jimmy Carter
38. Which Israeli prime minister gave President Truman a menorah in 1951?Hard
Show the answer
David Ben-Gurion
39. Ma'oz Tzur is usually sung in English under what name?Medium
Show the answer
Rock of Ages
40. Which university has held a mock debate on latkes versus hamantaschen since 1946?Hard
Show the answer
The University of Chicago

How to run Hanukkah trivia at work

One reader, teams of four to six and 10 minutes a round. It works the same at a lunch table or on a call.

Pick one or two rounds. A round of 10, with answers read out, takes about 10 minutes. Two rounds fit a 30-minute lunch; all four fill a 45-minute session.
Make teams of four to six. Each team picks a name and one writer. Mixed teams work best, so people who know the holiday sit with people who don't.
In the office: read each question twice, give teams 30 seconds, and collect one answer sheet per team. Swap sheets to mark them.
Hybrid: put the reader on camera in the room and give remote players their own team in a breakout room. They send answers by private chat.
On video: screen-share the quiz at the top of this page, wait until every team has typed an answer, then show it and tap We got it or We missed it.
Read the notes out loud. The short notes after each answer are where the learning happens, and where most of the good conversation starts.

For 30 or more people on video, a host-run virtual winter games hour keeps everyone playing instead of watching. Want a warm-up first? Our winter trivia works for any December meeting.

Tips for a team where most people don't celebrate

Hanukkah trivia works best as a chance to learn, played by everyone and put on nobody.

Mind the calendar: Hanukkah 2026 begins on a Friday evening, which is also Shabbat, so play at lunch or on another day that week.
Invite, never assign. Colleagues who celebrate may want to share a family custom; they shouldn't become the answer key.
Customs vary between families and communities, so read the notes as common practice, not rules everyone follows.
Accept every spelling: Hanukkah, Chanukah and Hanukah are all correct transliterations.
Make it one part of a December that includes everyone, not the whole holiday plan.
Keep prizes small and shareable: chocolate coins for the winning team, or bragging rights.

Planning the rest of December? Our inclusive holiday party ideas cover a party for every tradition, and the diversity calendar lists the observances worth knowing all year.