Check out what the Webniks have designed for Chanukah!

ife seems more unpredictable in this post-Sept. 11 era, so it's doubly reassuring to contemplate the Jewish calendar -- the festivals and holidays that are reliably there, regardless of the vicissitudes of the world.

So now it's Chanukah, which starts on Sunday evening, and as usual, there are numerous Web sites to enhance your understanding of the Festival of Lights and help give it new meaning.

Chabad's Virtual Chanukah site -- http://www.virtualchanukah.com -- is an excellent place to start. A lot of Jewish organizations seem to dismiss Chanukah as a kind of pseudo-Christmas, and give it short shrift on their Web sites; the Lubavitch Web folks give it all-out cyber-treatment.

Here you'll find all the basics, including the Chanukah story, games, multimedia features and recipes for the calorie-rich jelly doughnuts that are so much a part of the Chassidic tradition. Make sure your health insurance premiums are paid up before eating these things.

You'll get a heavy dose of Chabad's perspective on Chanukah, a time for redoubling efforts to bring light into the world.

A "Share a Mitzvah" section lets visitors tell the things they've done to make the world a better place, in keeping with the philosophy of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Kids talk about extra efforts to share their toys during the Chanukah season; one person writes about reading stories about the festival to a friend who had suffered a stroke.

Nothing earth-shaking -- but lots of heart-warming stories about ordinary people doing the little things that make life better.

Plenty of stuff for the kids, pointers to more detailed learning material and a directory of Chabad-sponsored menorah lighting events around the world.

As usual, it's a job well done by the Chabad Webniks.

For pure Chanukah silliness, check out the History Channel's Chanukah page -- part of a feature on the three major holidays celebrated during this season by Americans.

The Chanukah home page itself is not very informative. But click on "Amazing Chanukah Feats" for some truly offbeat information.

Here you'll be able to learn the truth about feats of daring such as the 16-foot dreidel built by students at Rutgers University, kids who obviously have too much time on their hands. Or the recurrent fight over who has the world's biggest menorah.

And for a real stomach turner, don't miss the description of the world's largest pile of fried jelly doughnuts -- a 12-foot pyramid of the things. You'll find it at http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/hanukkah/feats.html

Chanukah humor can help brighten up the dreary winter days. A good place to go for some safe, non-offensive chuckles is Jacob Richman's Chanukah humor site, at http://www.jr.co.il/ humor/chanuka.htm

Included here: the infamous "Chanukah song" by Adam Sandler; funny lists, like the top 10 Chanukah movie rentals ("The Rocky Hora Picture Show"); the irreverent "Eight Days of Chanukah," a musical reply to the well-known Christmas song.

Richman is a Jewish Web crusader and his collections of links are among the best in the business. Naturally, he has a Chanukah home page listing about a billion interesting sites with Chanukah content -- at http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdaych.htm

For the kids, you can't do much better than the Hanukat home page. Young ones can explore the holiday through the imaginary Hanukat character. The stories are simply presented, with easy-to-read text and eye-catching graphics -- sort of like high-quality kids books.

After reading the stories, children and parents can enjoy a big collection of related activities -- crafts, games, a cool "Hanukat dream catcher."

A "Print Shop" offers downloads to help kids make their own catchy Chanukah cards -- including the all-important and usually neglected thank-you cards.

If your children really get into this stuff, you can visit the Hanukat store and buy T-shirts, tote bags and the like. Dozens of Chanukah sites have material for kids, but for the younger set, none is as comprehensive or as attractive as the Hanukat home page. You'll find it at http://www.hanukat.com

For older folks interested in poking beneath the surface of Chanukah, the Aish HaTorah Chanukah site can't be beat.

The design of this year's Chanukah page is exceptional -- attractive, logical, easy to navigate. It's at http://www.aish.com/holidays/ chanukah

The writer is a Washington-based correspondent who has been writing about Jewish Web sites since the early 1990s. His columns alternate with those of Mark Mietkiewicz. Besser can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)