Hanukkah is one of the most important dates in the Jewish calendar.

Also known as the Festival of Lights, the religious holiday is an eight-day celebration, packed with food, prayer and the lighting of a menorah.

This year it runs from December 10-18 and is a chance for families to get together and honour the event with delicious traditional foods, like this lot…

1. Latkes

These moreish fried potato cakes are a staple of the Hanukkah dinner table, and are made by shallow frying grated potatoes and onions. Being fried in oil, they’re meant to symbolise the miracle of Hanukkah, when the Second Temple of Jerusalem was reclaimed, but there was only enough oil to light the menorah for one day – it burned for eight.

2. Sufganiyot

Sufganiyot are delicious, deep-fried doughnuts topped with powdered sugar and served piping hot. The Hebrew word ‘sufganiyot’ translates as ‘spongy’ or ‘fried’. The sweet treat is typically filled with jam or custard, but there are all kinds of variations out there, filled with everything from Nutella to cranberries and pumpkin.

3. Challah

This braided bread is always a showpiece at any Jewish dinner table. It’s a brioche-like, enriched-dough sweet loaf, that has a bouncy, golden crust and a spongy interior.

You can slice up challah just like a regular loaf of bread and toast it for breakfast or use it as the base for French toast. What makes it really special is its braided appearance, which can symbolise the joining together of family and friends.

4. Matzo ball soup

A Passover favourite, matzo ball soup still tends to make an appearance at Hanukkah. Hot, tasty and perfect for the chilly winter temperatures, this soup is distinctive for its floating matzo balls (soup dumplings), made using matzo meal, eggs, and butter or chicken fat.

5. Hanukkah Gelt

Many Jewish families celebrate the eight-day festival by gifting each other  gelt: chocolate coins. Loved by children, gelt is often used as ‘money’ in the game of dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, often played during the Jewish holiday.