Chanukah Dreidel fun for geeks

[Amelia]

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Droidel, Droidel, Droidel

December 16, 2005

Make Your Own Droidel Dreidel

It's holiday time which means Jewish fans from around the world are celebrating Chanukah which includes playing the traditional game of dreidel. The Yiddish word dreidel is derived from the German word drehen meaning "turn." The Hebrew word for dreidel is s'vivon. A dreidel is a four-sided top with a symbol on each side. Each symbol represents a word which put together say in Hebrew "Nes Gadol Hayah Sham" it translates as "A Great Miracle Happened There." (However, in Israel the letters on a dreidel are changed to stand for "A Great Miracle Happened Here.")

Some religious scholars believe that the dreidel game originated during the times of the Greek-Syrians, and is closely connected to the Chanukah holiday. Because the ruling Greek-Syrians outlawed Jews from learning the Torah, the Jews needed a way to hide their studies. The dreidel became a clever decoy. When Jewish students saw the Greek-Syrians coming, they would hide their books and play with dreidels instead, which tricked the Syrians into thinking they were just playing a harmless game.

In this Star Wars variation, the dreidel and the droid R2-D2 combine to make Droidel! Print out the PDF and follow these instructions to construct your very own paper Droidel.

How To Make a Paper Droidel:

1. Print out the Droidel PDF and glue it to a thin piece of cardstock or cardboard like from a cereal box

2. Once the glue is dry, have an adult carefully cut it out along the edges (including the flaps). Also cut out R2-D2's circle dome.

3. Carefully cut out the circle. This is where the small pencil or a straw will go -- so you can spin the dreidel like a top.

4. Fold along the lines on the inside, then glue or tape where the flaps tell you. Do the top part last.

5. Fold the top extra R2-D2 circle top into a wide cone and place on top of the dreidel with glue or tape. Make sure the holes line up.

6. Then stick in a small pencil or a straw through the holes you cut at the top.

7. Now you're ready to play!

[Amelia]

How to Play the Dreidel Game:

To begin the game, each player should have 15 objects to use as prize tokens. Players can use nickels, raisins, nuts, or chocolate coins in gold wrappers (Chanukah gelt) as tokens. Each person puts one object in the middle. Then each person takes a turn at spinning the dreidel. What letter is face up when it is finished spinning determines what each person must do.

Nun stands for nicht or nothing.

If the dreidel lands on nun, you do nothing.

And the next person spins the dreidel.

Gimel stands for gantz or all.

If the dreidel lands on gimel, take everything in the middle.

Everyone adds another coin in the middle to continue the game.

And the next person spins the dreidel.

Hey stands for halb or half.

If the dreidel lands on hey, take half of what's in the middle.

And the next person spins the dreidel.

Shin stands for shtel or put in.

If the dreidel lands on shin, put two objects into the middle.

And the next person spins the dreidel.

The game ends when one player has all the objects!

If you would like to learn more about the dreidel game and other Chanukah traditions, please visit your local or school library for more detailed books. Happy Holidays!