Celebrate the Festival of Lights through creativity, storytelling, and coding!
Hanukkah is a time filled with joy, family traditions, beautiful lights, and meaningful stories. It’s also the perfect opportunity to bring creativity and technology together. With Scratch, kids can celebrate Hanukkah through interactive games, animations, art, and storytelling projects—all while learning the fundamentals of programming.
Whether you are a parent, teacher, or student, this blog will guide you through engaging Hanukkah-themed Scratch activities that spark imagination and enhance computational thinking.
⭐ Why Use Scratch for Hanukkah Coding Activities?
Scratch is a visual, drag-and-drop programming platform designed for young learners. It allows kids to easily create stories, games, animations, and music—making it ideal for holiday-themed projects.
Scratch contributes to learning by:
- Building problem-solving and logical thinking
- Encouraging creativity and storytelling
- Introducing event-based and block-based coding
- Boosting confidence through fun, shareable projects
Hanukkah’s themes of light, resilience, miracles, and celebration provide rich inspiration for creative coding projects!
🎉 Top Scratch Coding Activities for Hanukkah
Below are exciting, classroom-ready or at-home activities that kids can create using Scratch.
🕯️ 1. Create a Hanukkah Menorah Animation
In this activity, kids design a menorah and animate the lighting of candles for each night of Hanukkah.
What kids learn:
- Sequencing
- Timers and delays
- Sprite customization
Steps:
Draw or import a menorah sprite.
Create candle sprites.
Program each candle to “light up” using show, hide, or change color blocks.
Use broadcast messages to trigger lighting actions.💡 Extension: Add background music or a narrator explaining each candle’s meaning.
🎁 2. Build a Dreidel Spinning Game
Kids design a virtual dreidel and program it to spin and land on נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hey), or ש (Shin).
What kids learn:
- Randomization
- Variables
- User interaction
Steps:
Create a dreidel sprite with four costumes.
Use a when clicked event to trigger spinning.
Use pick random 1 to 4 to select the final symbol.
Display the outcome using if…else blocks.💡 Extension: Add score-keeping and a Hanukkah chocolate coin (gelt) system.
🎶 3. Program a Hanukkah Song Player
Kids create an interactive music board that plays Hanukkah songs like “Maoz Tzur” or “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah!”
What kids learn:
- Sound functions
- Event-driven programming
- User interface design
Steps:
Add button sprites for each musical phrase.
Use play sound until done blocks.
Add animations when buttons are clicked.
Record custom audio or add instruments.💡 Extension: Create a full piano keyboard to play Hanukkah melodies.
🔥 4. The Oil That Lasted 8 Days – Interactive Story
Kids retell the miracle of Hanukkah through an animated story using Scratch characters and backgrounds.
What kids learn:
- Storyboarding
- Dialogue creation
- Scene transitions
Steps:
Add characters: Judah Maccabee, villagers, Greek soldiers, etc.
Create backgrounds: temple, village, mountains.
Use say, think, and broadcast blocks for narration.
Animate the oil jar glowing for eight nights.💡 Extension: Add user choices to turn it into an interactive story.
📦 5. Hanukkah Gift Catch Game
A playful mini-game where kids catch falling gifts (or gelt) in a basket.
What kids learn:
- Loops
- Conditional logic
- Collision detection
Steps:
Create falling object sprites.
Add a “basket” controlled by arrow keys.
Use continuous loops to drop gifts.
Detect collisions to increase scores.💡 Extension: Add levels, countdown timers, and difficulty modes.
⭐ 6. Design a Hanukkah Greeting Card in Scratch
Kids create a digital greeting card that plays music, shows animations, and includes personalized messages.
What kids learn:
- Animation
- Graphic design
- Sound integration
Steps:
Add holiday-themed sprites (candles, dreidels, stars).
Add a “Happy Hanukkah!” message.
Use glide, fade, and change effects blocks for animation.
Add background music or voice greetings.💡 Extension: Publish it on Scratch and share with family and friends.
🌟 7. Hanukkah Maze Game
Kids create a maze where the goal is to guide a character to a glowing menorah.
What kids learn:
- Maze creation
- Movement controls
- Conditionals and sensing
Steps:
Draw a maze backdrop.
Create a character sprite to navigate.
Program arrow-key movement.
Use touching color? blocks to detect walls.💡 Extension: Add multiple levels and obstacles.
🧠 Why Holiday Coding Activities Are Powerful
Hanukkah-themed coding strengthens:
- Creative thinking
- Cultural understanding
- Computational skills
- Collaboration and sharing
It connects tradition with modern learning, turning holiday excitement into meaningful STEM exploration.
✨ Get Started with Codingal’s Hanukkah Scratch Lessons!
Codingal offers live, interactive Scratch classes where kids can build all these Hanukkah activities—and much more.
With expert instructors and a joyful project-based approach, kids experience:
- Fun learning
- Creative designing
- Logical thinking
- Real coding skills
Whether you want a single holiday workshop or a full Scratch curriculum, Codingal has the perfect option for your child.
