Gelt

One of the traditions of Hanukkah is receiving chocolate coins, also known as gelt. We look at the origins of the tradition.

Gelt is a Yiddish word that means "money", but Hanukkah gelt is much more than that.

Hanukkah gelt is an important piece of the Hanukkah tradition. Today, it commonly refers to a coin-shaped piece of chocolate.

The history of Hanukkah gelt from its monetary origins to when chocolate coins were first "minted." Learn what gelt is used for and where to get it.

While potato latkes, with their glamorous sheen of oil and salt-kissed crunch, may be the star of Hanukkah cuisine, it is hard to imagine celebrating The Festival of Lights without chocolate gelt. Mesh pouches of the glinting, foil-wrapped discs have become a central part of grocery store holiday displays and a mandatory nibble at Hanukkah parties. But for all its current ubiquity, chocolate gelt is a surprisingly recent addition to Hanukkah. And a peek into gelt’s history reveals as much about the way American Jews celebrate the winter holiday as the sweet treat itself.

Why have Jews traditionally given money to our children on Hanukkah? While it is now commonplace to also give gifts, the original tradition remains to give gelt.

Scholars have offered several theories as to the inventor of Hanukkah gelt (chocolate coins, usually wrapped in gold foil). One traces the tradition back to the decision of the Hasmoneans to mint their own nation's coins after their military victory over the Greek Syrians.

What's the deeper meaning of money and what does it have to do with Chanukah?

Savings bonds, checks, and small chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil-these are the modern incarnations of the traditional gift known as Hanukkah gelt. “Gelt” is a Yiddish term for “money.”

The original Jewish custom is to give “Chanukah gelt” (money) rather than presents. There are a number of reasons given for this practice.

Hanukkah gelt (Yiddish: חנוכה געלט‎ ḥanukah gelt ; Hebrew: דמי חנוכה‎ dmei ḥanukah, both meaning literally "Hanukkah money") refers to money as well as chocolate coins given to Jewish children on the festival of Hanukkah.