Hanukkah, the jewish holiday nobody knows how to spell, or is it Chanukah? Getting the proper spelling of a Hebrew word transliterated into English could get very tricky. 

But if you don’t fall into the Hebrew-scholar category, what should you do?

With so many ways to correctly get the point of Hanukkah across, the proper spelling really turns into what you prefer. If you want to fit in with the crowd, choose the Hanukkah spelling, the most widely used of the choices.

However, don’t forget Chanukah, the second most often used spelling and the favorite of traditionalists, which makes the same sounds as the holiday’s original name .חנוכה

But  how did Hanukkah‘s spelling become so popular and overtopped  Chanukah on the list? 

Well it is the ch sound being similar to the H sound, making Hanukkah a bit easier for English speakers to pronounce.

As little as about five years ago, the top spelling choice on the Internet was Chanukah. But times are changing, even in the way the Jewish holiday of lights is celebrated and understood, and the Hanukkah spelling has gone mainstream. 

With both correct, and about 14 other ways technically correct too, you’ve got a pretty good shot at spelling it right.