Come tutta l’Italia, in Sardegna si festeggia Natale con tanta gioia. Per i sardi, il giocattolo “barralliccu” è molto importante per la loro cultura. Questo è un cubo di legno simile a un dreidel di Hanukkah. I giocatori girano il cubo e seguono alcune regole per vincere o perdere. Per i bambini, questo gioco si prende molto sul serio perché possono vincere le mandorle e le noci. Il barralliccu è una tradizione natalizia del passato e ancora continua oggi. Ci sono anche i video su YouTube per imparare il gioco.

On the Italian island of Sardinia, it would not be Natale without spinning the “barrallicu” (“bar-a-LEE-koo”), a wooden cube made to spin like…well exactly like the dreidel used by Jews throughout the world as a favorite Chanukah game! The similarities are stunning. Just like the Chanukah dreidel, the barrallicu is a holiday favorite with players winning or losing almonds or hazelnuts taken from a pile in the middle of the table. In fact, you can find several YouTube videos that demonstrate how to play the dreidel game. 

What makes the barrallicu so “dreidel-ish?” Not only are the rules of the game incredibly similar, but so are the markings on the cube. According to Blogger M. L. Meloni, the letter “T” stands for “tottu,” where the player takes all, while the letter “N” for “nudda” means the player gets nothing. The letter “M” for “mesu” means one half is taken, while the letter “P” for “poni” means that the player “ponies up” and places all his winnings back in the original pile. 

Thanks to author M. L. Meloni’s post at SardiniaLink we are able to view the “barrallicu” up close. Yes, “si” and “ken,” it looks exactly like a dreidel. Could the barrallicu have originated from Jewish tradition? Elio Moncelsi, author of “Ebrei in Sardegna” (“The Jews in Sardinia”), believes the similarity is no accident. In fact, many historians report that ever since Rome expelled thousands of Jews in 19 CE and sent them to Sardinia, “Noi sardi abbiamo tutti una goccia di sangue ebreo,” Every Sardinian has a drop of Jewish blood.

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• Traditional Jewish dreidel Traditional Jewish dreidel
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