62 | DECEMBER 19 • 2024 
J
N

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

 Up for a 
Game of Dreidel?
I 

have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. And when it’s dry and ready, then 
dreidel I shall play!” This is the opening stanza of the all-time most popular 
Chanukah song. So, I thought to myself, dreidels would be an interesting topic 
for a “Looking Back.”
There is no shortage of dreidel content in the William Davidson Digital Archive 
of Jewish Detroit History. I found dreidel articles and images on 1,349 pages. Lots 
of good stuff. 
Dreidel is the best-known children’s game for Chanukah 
(adults can play, too!). The word dreidel is Yiddish, which means 
“to spin,” and the game has been played during eight days of 
Chanukah since the 16th century. In 2005, JN writer Elizabeth 
Applebaum contributed a brief history of the dreidel for readers, 
and “Dreidel, Dreidel: Jewish top reminds us of the great miracle 
of Chanukah” is another fine article (Nov. 24, 2005, Dec. 22, 
2000). 
The first mention of dreidel is in the Dec. 3, 1926, issue of 
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle. Hadar Zion announced that the program for its 
upcoming Chanukah party would include a traditional dreidel game.
The JN’s weekly “Children’s Corner” by Uncle Daniel in the Nov. 30, 1945, 
issue is an interesting story written in interesting times. Uncle Daniel explains 
the dreidel’s Hebrew letters. He also declared, “Let us hope that this Hanukah 
will mark a victory for the Maccabees of 1945 — the heroic men and women of 
Palestine and Europe who are battling for their rights and for justice for Israel.” 
I think, with minor tweaking, this statement is still relevant for Israelis today.
From my research into dreidels in the Archive, I also learned that dreidels come in many different forms, 
beyond the standard wooden version. See “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made it out of ….” (Hmm — that title sounds familiar) in the 
2004 JN gift guide (Nov. 26, 2004). It is a beautiful display of various dreidel forms, from clay and ceramic to silver 
and fused glass, to welded metal and, yes, dreidels made of wood.
My personal favorite dreidel? The dreidel you can eat! The chocolate dreidel from Gayle’s Chocolates in 
Royal Oak. Better yet, perhaps, the 50-pound, 2-foot tall, chocolate dreidel created by Ross Fine Candies 
in Waterford (Nov. 21, 2013).
As you know, the JN holds an annual Chanukah Art contest, and dreidels are often depicted in 
submissions, often in the winning works of art. As this Looking Back was written, we had just 
finished the judging for 2024. Every year, it’s a tough job picking winners from all the great 
Chanukah art, but it is also a lot of fun. Among the many submissions this year, I counted dreidels 
in 30 different works.
BTW — check out Lucy Aguilar’s winning dreidel masterpiece, which was on the cover of the 
Dec. 19, 2019, JN.
Finally, if you would like to make your own dreidel, then see the Nov. 12, 2004, issue of the JN. 
On page 5, you will find a pattern and instructions for building a dreidel. Just bring your own 
glue and construction paper, and crayons or markers for coloring your homemade dreidel.

Chag Chanukah Sameach! Happy Chanukah! 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

