While chocolate may be a general mark of celebration, Hanukkah has one very special connection with chocolate: Hanukkah gelt.
Hanukkah gelt began with small monetary gifts at Hanukkah from parents to children, but it became customary by the 18th century to give tips to Hebrew school teachers at the holiday, and this little gift of money was commonly called "Hanukkah gelt."
When Hanukkah began, in the 20th century, to change from a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar to a winter festival with a materialistic element matching the gift-focussed Christmas celebrations arising at the same time, candy companies began making gold-wrapped chocolate Hanukkah gelt. Loft's was one of these companies, producing Hanukkah gelt in the 1920s. They were later bought by PepsiCo.
Now, chocolate coins are used to play the traditional dreidl game, as gifts, and as snacks. Most used in the U.S. are made in Israel.
