Hanukkah Gelt Is Bad, and That’s Good. The comforting, complicated, dependably mediocre tradition of eating chocolate money. If you buy something from a link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

Giving out Hanukkah gelt. At Hanukkah, Jewish children look forward to receiving small discs of chocolate, usually wrapped in gold- or silver-colored foil to resemble coins.

According to Magen Avraham, the custom of giving Hanukkah gelt enabled the poor to get the money needed to buy candles without feeling shame.I have another answer.

The bags of dark chocolate coins, known as gelt, were distributed to stores nationwide, predominantly in the tristate region, from late September through Nov. 28.

For many centuries, Jews also gave Hanukkah gelt — money — to the poor or to worthy causes. Over time, the tradition has evolved into giving gold-foil-wrapped chocolate coins to children.

The Hanukkah haven is the brainchild of award-winning mixologist Naomi Levy, 36, who introduced the concept to Boston in 2018. The Beantown bartender felt there was room for a gelt-y pleasure.