The main purpose of lighting the Chanukiah (often called the Chanukah Menorah) is “to publicise the miracle”, so it is traditional to light it in a window or doorway.

The word menorah just means “candlestick”, and can refer to either the six–branch candelabrum that was kept constantly lit in the Temple, or the Chanukiah which has eight branches for the eight days of the festival. There is no preferred design for a Chanukiah – the only rule is that the lamps should all be in a straight line, and many are very artistic. Note that the six–branch menorah beloved of tourist shops is symbolic of the menorah in the Temple, and is the official emblem of the State of Israel, but is not used in Jewish worship today.

The Chanukah lights should not be used for any other purpose, which is why an extra candle, the shamash (assistant), is lit first so that notionally it is providing the light for any other purpose.

The game of dreidel is linked to Chanukah because when King Antiochus banned learning Torah, some Jewish people studied the Torah in secret, sometimes hiding in caves. They would keep dreidels (a popular gambling game at the time) on their tables so that if they heard soldiers approaching, they would hide their books and pretend they were playing games.

One explanation of the custom of giving “Chanukah gelt” to children was for them to play dreidel with the coins. Another is that parents gave children money to give to their teachers and the custom developed of giving to the children too.