How to incorporate cannabis in your Hanukkah traditions

December 5, 2021

The Holiday Season is in full swing, and with it, an endless number of opportunities for festivities. With weed having only been legal for a short time, we are all now discovering how to incorporate our favorite pastime into such timeless, seasonal traditions as Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

For many Jewish people, Hanukkah is a time to get cozy, be merry, and feel free from the stresses of everyday life. From Flowers, to oils, to edibles, there is no lack of ways to include cannabis at every step along the way in the observation of Hanukkah. We have provided a few suggestions below to get you in the festive spirit with your favorite herb!

What is Hannukah?

For those who are new to the holiday, Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights and is an 8 day ritual celebrating the overthrow of the Syrian-Greek occupations by the Jewish Maccabee army. The oppressors waged a campaign to convert the Jews to the Helenistic culture and religion. This campaign included the desecration of the Jewish temple. When they were finally miraculously able to defeat their enemy, they went back to the temple and relit the Eternal Light, which, as the name states, never gets extinguished. However, they were only able to recover a tiny jar of oil from the rubble. Lighting it anyway, the oil miraculously lasted for 8 days.

Hanukkah is traditionally celebrated with candle-lighting rituals, cooking food fried in oil, playing games, and, of course, spending quality time with friends and family. Being that Cannabis is Kosher as defined in the Tora ( “Every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the Earth” is free reign for use) we encourage everyone to partake no matter how strict you are religiously

Spark a new Preroll for each night of Hanukkah

It is very typical for kids to receive a small present for each of the holiday’s eight flights when til every candle of the menorah is lit. While getting small toys and treats may be a thing of the past for adults, enjoying a holiday joint in celebration of lighting each of the candles of the menorah

Dreidel Game

A dreidel is a four sided spinning top with different litters written on each side. It is traditionally played on Hannukah by kids, but can make a fun way to translate into an Adult’s Cannabis-themed game.

Each player starts with an equal number of game pieces. In this case, we suggest using edibles, pre-rolls, or even loose nugs! At the start of the game, each player puts in one game piece into the center “pot”. Then, the players take turns spinning the dreidel. If it land on Shin, the player puts a gem piece in; if it lands on Hey, the player takes half the pot; for Nun the player neither puts in nor takes out; and finally, if the dreidel lands on Gimel, the player wins everything in the pot

Lit Latkes

Traditional foods eaten during Hanukkah are fried in oil. One of the most well known treats include Latkes which are potato pancakes and Sufganiyot which are jelly donuts. Making cannabis-infused versions of these foods is relatively easy if you have canna oil!. Experts suggest micro-dosing these items with perhaps 1-2mg each of THC so that your guests are able to indulge and enjoy without over-medicating.

Get Creative with Smokables

There are some really creative ways in which you can incorporate the menorah into your smoking activities on Hannukah.

A favorite is the Menorah Joint. Here is a useful Vice video explaining how you can make one for yourself: https://bit.ly/2E9CT1P

For those who may not be quite a crafty, there are some options on the market such as the Grav menorah bong.

This water pipe features 8 10mm pinch bowls that all feed into one large bubbler. The angled mouthpiece allows you and your friends to take on the whole chamber at once!