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Throughout history, Hanukkah has been spelled up to 16 different ways.

Common Ways To Spell Hanukkah

Hannukah is a Jewish festival which is also known as the Festival of Light. It is celebrated over 8 days and it is held to remember the time when the Holy Temple was redirected in Jerusalem and is considered as the most important festival in the Jewish calendar.

This is a festival that is celebrated by millions all over the world and the common symbol for Hannukah is the Menorah – a nine branched candelabrum. One candle is lit one each night of the celebration using the centre candle.

While this is a festival that is observed by many people there has always been controversy over how Hannukah is actually spelt and this has been going on for many years. In fact the history of Hannukah has shown the word to be spelled up to 16 different ways which can cause a lot of confusion to people wanting to know the right way to spell the word.


Translation From Hebrew To English Is Tricky

The main reason that there are so many different spellings of Hannukah is that translating many words from Hebrew into English is very tricky. Hebrew is a language that uses sounds that are unlike the sounds that are used in English which is why it is so hard to spell. The two most common translations of this are Hanukkah or Chanukah and these are commonly used.

As well as Hebrew being tricky to translate into English there are also different pronunciations depending on whether a person is speaking modern or classical Hebrew. However regardless of which version of Hebrew a person is speaking there is no definitive English translation. Although if a person is speaking modern Hebrew it is assumed that the correct spelling is Chanukah whereas the spelling of the word in classical Hebrew is Hanukkah.

To further complicate matters the spelling of Hannukah has changed greatly over the years. This is due to regional spellings of the word and the fact that many people will try to spell it very much in the way that it sounds. Obviously this has led to the many different spellings that are used today.


Which Is The Correct Spelling?

With so many different spellings around being used by people all over the word it would be accurate to say that there is no one correct spelling of Hannukah. In fact the spelling of the word can vary from community to community. As shown on one of the websites previously there are spelling that are more commonly used such as Hanukkah and Chanukah. With this in mind it is usually the spelling that individuals use themselves which is the correct version for them.