Chanukah / Hanukkah, depending on what word you use for it, is a Jewish festival commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire. This Jewish holiday is also known as the “Festival of Lights”, and is celebrated for eight nights and days. Most of you probably already know this, and if you’re celebrating Chanukah, or are simply interested in knowing more about it, we’ve hand-picked nine apps to present to you. There are many Chanukah-themed apps available in the Play Store, though truth be said not all of them are all that good. Before you start browsing, please do note that these apps are not listed in a specific order, just because an app is first in line doesn’t mean that it’s the best.
Chanukah Guide App
Chanukah Guide App contains basically everything you need to know about Chanukah. This app contains Hanukkah prayers, the dreidel game tutorial, and even blessings in six languages. On top of everything else, a 30 minutes menorah countdown is also included in the application. This application has been around for a while now, and it is currently holding a 4.5-star rating in the Google Play Store. The design of the app is pretty straightforward, though it is worth noting that the company is using the same design on both iOS and Android, so it’s not exactly in line with Google’s Material Design guidelines.
Chanukah Guide App (Google Play Store)
Hanukkah Menora
Hanukkah Menora application basically allows you to light up your own menorah, which is misspelled in the app’s name, for some reason. In any case, it is a nine-branched candelabrum which is used during the holiday of Hanukkah, similar to what Christians do before Christmas with four candles. This app will automatically light up candles according to the Hanukkah holiday dates, and menorah’s appearance is really nice, it’s designed really well. The full version of the app also comes with a menorah live wallpaper.
Hanukkah Menora (Google Play Store)
Daily Jewish Prayers
Daily Jewish Prayers application is kind of self-explanatory, if you’re Jewish, you will find this app immensely useful, as it contains a large collection of Jewish prayers, and is perfect for Hanukkah, actually. It contains blessings for every occasion, while Jewish laws and customs are also included here. Lighting candles and Havdalah times are also a part of the app, while English translations and explanations are also included, for those that do not read Hebrew. The app’s design is a bit dated, but it does the job.
Daily Jewish Prayers (Google Play Store)
Menorah – Chanukah
Menorah – Chanukah app will basically educate you a bit more on Hanukkah and Menorah, as it will show you how many candles to light, and when to light them, all in accordance with the Ashkenaz customs. This app also comes with Hanukkah prayers, which are available in both Hebrew and English, while a widget is also available along with this application, and will put Menorah on your home screen basically. This app is completely free to use, as ads are not a part of the experience.
Menorah - Chanukah (Google Play Store)
Hanukkah Wallpapers
Hanukkah Wallpapers app is kind of self-explanatory as well, this app comes with a collection of wallpapers which are specifically made for Hanukkah. There are quite a few HD wallpapers included in this application, while the UI is almost non-existent, which is not a bad thing as that is more or less the point when it comes to wallpaper applications, as all the focus should be on the wallpapers themselves. This application does come with ads, though, so keep that in mind, and after 12 ratings it is holding a 5-star rating, people seem to be really happy with the wallpapers on offer here.
Hanukkah Wallpapers (Google Play Store)
Droidel
For those of you who do not know, Dreidel is a game of chance which is played during Hanukkah, and Droidel is basically a game of Dreidel adapted for Android, named Droidel on purpose. This is a game for up to four players, while two is the absolute minimum. You can, of course, spin the Dreidel for fun, instead of actually playing the game, but that’s not as fun. The Dreidel and graphics look good, though menus and stats chart can be considerably improved, as they look dated.
Hanukkah Live Wallpaper
If regular wallpapers are not your thing, and are looking for a live wallpaper to set on your phone for Hanukkah… well, there’s an app for that as well. This app is called “Hanukkah Live Wallpaper”, and it does exactly what you think it does. There are five different settings that you can choose from, and you can personalize this live wallpaper as well, as it can display your pictures inside the scene, if you want. You can also set the number of candles in the Menorah are lit, on a specific day, so that everything is up to date.
Hanukkah Live Wallpaper (Google Play Store)
Battle Hanukkah Free
Battle Hanukkah is a game whose title is a bit misleading, this game is Hanukkah-related, but you’re not literally battling Hanukkah or anything of the sort, though the game is quite fun. In this game you’re throwing donuts at your enemies, and are on a quest to find the holly flash of oil. You can collect Dreidels to get extra points, and the graphics in this game is extremely simple, though that doesn’t take away from the gameplay. There are two versions of the game, one is free, while the other one is paid, and it offers more levels to play.
Battle Hanukkah Free (Google Play Store)
Hanukkah SMS Messages
If you’re not celebrating Hanukkah and would like to find a perfect greeting for someone that does, well, the Hanukkah SMS Messages application is a great source of such content. The developer notes that internet access is required to get messages from the server, as they’re constantly updated, while the app itself is quite small, only 4.8MB. It is worth noting that the app’s UI is a bit dated at this point, but if you’re bothered by that, or the ads that are included, this app can be quite useful.